VP poll: EC asks Punjab CEO to issue postal ballot to jailed MP Amritpal Singh

Chandigarh, Sep 1 (PTI) Jailed Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh will cast his vote in the September 9 vice presidential election through postal ballot in Assam's Dibrugarh prison, according to an official statement issued on Monday.

The Election Commission (EC) issued instructions for the facilitation of voting by Singh, who is also a member of the electoral college for the vice presidential election, the statement issued by the office of the Punjab chief electoral officer (CEO) said.

In accordance with the provisions of Rule 26 of the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Rules, 1974, the EC has directed that a postal ballot paper be issued to Singh, the statement said.

According to the prescribed procedure, postal ballot papers for electors under preventive detention are to be delivered only on the day of polling and the sealed cover containing the marked postal ballot must reach the returning officer before the commencement of counting.

The EC has also instructed the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and the Assam chief secretary to ensure that the sealed cover containing the postal ballot marked by Singh is carried by a special messenger from Dibrugarh by air so that it reaches the returning officer well before 6 pm on September 9, the statement said.

The concerned authorities have been directed to immediately put in place arrangements for this purpose and keep the commission apprised of the details, it said.

The election to the office of the vice president was necessitated following the resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar on July 21.

Singh, the chief of the 'Waris Punjab De' outfit who styled himself after slain Khalistani militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, was arrested in Punjab's Moga on April 23, 2023, following an over a month-long manhunt.

Punjab Police launched the crackdown after the February 23, 2023, incident in which Singh and his supporters, some of them brandishing swords and guns, allegedly broke through barricades and barged into the Ajnala police station on the outskirts of Amritsar city and clashed with police demanding the release of his aides.

Singh fought the 2024 Lok Sabha polls from Khadoor Sahib as an independent and won.

His detention under the stringent National Security Act was extended in April this year, even as his nine associates, who were also lodged in the Assam jail, were brought back to Punjab. PTI CHS DIV DIV