Official from Madurai warn Election Commission with legal action if postal votes are not restored
Hundreds of railwaymen working in Tamil Nadu would not be able to cast their votes in the April 19 Lok Sabha election as the railway has not been included in the list of organisations whose employees are eligible for the postal ballots in the State.
V. Ramkumar, a railway official in Madurai, has sought the intervention of Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer to include railways as an organisation extended with postal ballot facility.
Interestingly, it was Mr. Ramkumar’s representation to the Election Commission in 2021 which got postal ballots to the railway staff for the Assembly election.
In a letter addressed to the CEO on Thursday, Mr. Ramkumar said the railway employees were included under the category of absentee voters on essential services and the postal ballot facility was extended to them in 2021 Assembly polls.
This helped the essential railway staff in Tamil Nadu to exercise their franchise. However, in the list of organisations, released by Election Commission in Tamil Nadu, whose employees are given postal votes for the Lok Sabha election, railway had not been included.
The list included Merchantile Marine, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, Chennai Metro Rail Limited, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Food Corporation of India and media persons.
Stating that several railway employees had exercised their franchise during the 2021 Assembly Election in Tamil Nadu using the postal ballots, Mr. Ramkumar said exclusion of railway employees for the postal ballots was against the principles of natural justice.
He warned that he would take legal recourse against the EC to retain the postal ballot for the essential staff working in the railways.
Mr. Ramkumar reasoned that onboard staff of the railways like loco pilots, train guards, travelling ticket examiners and other amenity staff would not be able to exercise their franchise by visiting the polling booths on election day, as they would be travelling in trains away from their headquarters for 24 hours to 48 hours.
Not all these staff would be able to avail themselves of leave on polling day to cast their votes as the train services could not be stopped on those days. Postal ballots would help achieve the aim of cent per cent voting in elections, he said.
