Nashik Civic Elections Marred By Voter List Errors, EVM Failures And Allegations Of Money Distribution

Nashik: The voting process for the Nashik Municipal Corporation elections began on Thursday morning, but errors and irregularities in the voter list created a chaotic atmosphere at many polling stations across the city. Many voters who had cast their votes in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections found their names missing from the voter list for the municipal elections. This led to many returning home disappointed, while others argued with election officials. This confusion affected the voting process, resulting in long queues at many places.

Several instances came to light where the names of four or five voters from the same household were listed at two or three different polling stations. This forced family members to go to different centers to cast their votes. For example, husbands, wives, and senior citizens had to rush between different locations. In many families, only two members could vote at one centre, while others had to go elsewhere. Senior citizens faced particular hardship as their names were listed at polling stations far from their homes. Due to these irregularities, in some families, only the head of the household could vote, while others had to take the elderly to different centres.

The voter slips that are usually delivered to homes before the election did not reach many households this year. Therefore, voters had to search for their names and polling stations online. Many were disheartened to find that the names of family members were listed at different polling stations when searching online. These errors caused voters extra time and trouble, which dampened the enthusiasm for the voting process.

At booth number 36 in the Gosavi Wadi area of Ward number 21, the voting machine malfunctioned at the very beginning. After a replacement machine was installed, it also stopped working, causing further chaos. Voters stood in queues, and voting was halted for some time. Later, the technical problems were resolved, and voting resumed. Besides this, incidents of EVM malfunctions also occurred in other wards, but they were promptly addressed.

On the other hand, independent candidate Mukesh Shahane from ward number 29, group 'A', alleged that that money was being distributed outside the office of BJP candidate Sudhakar Badgujar in Savtanagar. He staged a protest outside the office with a large number of supporters. However, the police intervened in time, brought the situation under control, and averted a major incident. Currently, a large police contingent has been deployed outside Badgujar's office.

There were instances where all the political party members have claimed that they have captured double voters, fake voters and also people who were distributing money and are handed over to police. The major issue was highlighted of the missing names of many people who voted earlier in assembly election. 

The election administration attempted to resolve these issues immediately, but the confusion persisted at many polling stations. Voters stated that such problems did not exist in previous elections, but this year there were errors in the preparation of the voter list. These incidents left citizens who had come to participate in the festival of democracy feeling disappointed. There is a demand that the Election Commission take note of this matter and implement improvements for future elections.