In a historic move, over 180 residents of the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) in Chennai cast their ballot in the largest democratic exercise in the world as the state of Tamil Nadu went to polls on April 18. The 180 residents cast their ballot at a polling booth that was installed on campus. The Election Commission, along with the Disability Rights Alliance, an NGO, enrolled the voters from the institute.
The 180 residents fall under the Chennai Central constituency and had undergone tests of decision-making and other related skills. They were subsequently declared fit to vote by the doctors. According to The Indian Express, many residents were cured or healthy but have been abandoned by their families.
Members of the NGO, along with members of the Chennai Corporation, helped the residents fill their voter ID forms to enter their names in the electoral rolls. A polling booth had been set up at the Institute, which houses nearly 900 residents, and two days before the polls, a demonstration explaining how to use Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) was conducted on campus.
The eligible voters were also told the names of the parties and candidates who are contesting, and posters with the names of the candidates were stuck at the polling booth set up inside the institute. The EC directed them towards this information as well, said the Institute.
Speaking to TNM, a senior staff member of the Institute said that the residents had been given sufficient information by the Election Commission to decide for whom they would be voting.
“The residents all went in one by one and voted. Some were already voters when they got admitted here. So their names were already on the rolls. Others were recently registered by the Election Commission,” he added.
Dr P Poorna Chandrika, Director at IMH, Chennai, told Indian Express: “The residents who have voted are very happy. There is a festive atmosphere here today. It is a historic moment for us, we have all become part of history.”
Also read: EC’s move to enrol persons with mental illnesses should be encouraged, not stonewalled
Source: The News Minute