Calcutta, Oct. 31: The desire of defence personnel posted away from home to vote during civic and rural polls has prompted the Election Commission to mull the introduction of postal ballots, so long restricted to Assembly and Parliament elections.

Bengal chief electoral officer Debashis Sen today met state election commissioner Ashok Gupta and explained in detail the problem faced by the defence employees.

“I’d been receiving mail from defence personnel who want to vote during the local polls. So, I met the state election commissioner this afternoon. But it is a huge task. If it can be done, a genuine grievance would be met,” Sen said.

According to the poll panel, 54,000 defence personnel from Bengal are posted away from home. Before every Assembly or Lok Sabha election, postal ballots are sent to these voters, who cast their ballots and post them.

A Trinamul Congress leader said postal ballots should be introduced especially in local polls as margins tend to be narrow.