PCMC Under Fire: NCP Claims Entire Block Of Voters Removed, 5,000 Names Misplaced In Pimpri-Chinchwad

Pimpri-Chinchwad: Leaders of the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), on Saturday, alleged that the Election Department of the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) committed serious errors in the ward-wise draft voter list division for the upcoming municipal elections. They accused the department of manipulating approximately 5,000 voters in all 32 wards and removing a block of voters entirely. They demanded an extension of the deadline for raising objections to the voter lists and called for the confusion in the lists to be resolved.

NCP held a press conference on Saturday, where they alleged this. NCP's Pimpri-Chinchwad City President Yogesh Behl and former corporators Bhausaheb Bhoir and Ajit Gavhane were present. They stated that a memorandum regarding the voter list confusion has been submitted to the Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) and the Pune District Collector Jitendra Dudi, and a complaint will also be filed with Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.

Speaking to reporters, Yogesh Behl claimed, "No site inspection was conducted while dividing the voter lists. The entire list of sections or areas has been arbitrarily included in a different ward instead of their original ward. There is confusion involving more than five thousand voters in many wards. There is no coordination among the officials of the PCMC's Election Department."

"No facility has been provided to voters to search online or via an app to find out exactly which ward their name is included in. This has made it extremely difficult for voters to find their names. The PDF lists available on the municipal website do not include voter photographs, causing confusion between two voters with the same name. Special help centres should be started at the ward level for voters to search for their name and ward. A separate cell should be established to deal with duplicate and triplicate voters," Behl demanded.

Bhausaheb Bhoir added that "a block of votes has been transferred from many wards to other wards. The PCMC administration's mistake is causing trouble for everyone."

NCP Accuses, PCMC Responds

Former Corporator Ajit Gavhane said that it was observed that during the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections, the names of more than 15,000 voters from the Bhosari constituency were removed and transferred to various areas, including Thane and Hadapsar, without filling out Form 8A. Gavhane further alleged that the lists are messed up in all 32 wards, and there are more than 92,000 duplicate names in the city. He accused the SEC and the PCMC Election Department of not working properly.

PCMC Commissioner Shravan Hardikar said that the concerns of citizens and officials coming to file objections should be heard properly. All objections and suggestions received regarding the draft voter list should be taken seriously. The related Zonal Officers should personally inspect and verify the objections. He also mentioned that a separate deputy commissioner has been appointed for each of the eight zonal offices to decide on the objections.

Eight ward-wise Deputy Commissioners have been authorised to scrutinise and decide on the objections and suggestions received regarding the draft voter list. They include Pankaj Patil (A Ward Office), Venkatesh Durwas (B Ward Office), Dr Pradip Thengal (C Ward Office), Chetna Kerure (D Ward Office), Rajesh Aagale (E Ward Office), Sitaram Bahure (F Ward Office), Anna Bodade (G Ward Office), and Sandeep Khot (H Ward Office).