Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 | Who is a service voter?

Polling for the 288 member Legislative Assembly of Maharashtra will be held on November 20 and votes will be counted on November 23.

The BJP aims to retain power in the state with allies Shiv Sena, led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and the NCP led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.

The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance is facing a challenge from the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition of the Congress-NCP(SP)-Shiv Sena (UBT), which hopes to repeat its performance in the Lok Sabha elections.

In order to ensure that everyone is able to cast their vote, special categories are made which aid people in exercising their right. Among those special categories are the service voters.

Who is a service voter?

According to the Election Commission of India, a service voter is a voter having a service qualification. Someone who is either a member of the Armed Forces of the Union, Armed Police Force of a State, or is otherwise employed under the Government of India.

Service voters can cast their votes either through postal ballot or through a proxy voter duly appointed to them. A voter who opts to vote through a proxy is called a Classified Service Voter.

How is a service voter different from an ordinary elector?

While an ordinary elector is registered in the electoral roll of the constituency where he/she hails from, a person having service qualification can get enrolled as a ‘service voter’ at their native place even though he/she may be residing at a different place (of posting). This voter has, however, an option to get enrolled as a general elector at the place of posting where they factually, at the point of time, is residing with their family for a sufficient span of time.

Is the spouse or son/daughter of a service voter also enrolled as a service voter?

If the spouse is ordinally residing with the service voter, then he/she shall be eligible to be enrolled as a service voter in the constituency concerned. However it is to be noted that this facility is not available for husbands of female service voters under the existing law.

Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

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