Mumbai: Irate over the deletion of names from the electoral roll without proper verifications, which deprived hundreds of voters from exercising their franchise in the Lok Sabha elections for the Thane constituency held on Monday, politicians cutting across party lines have demanded immediate rectifications.
In his letter mailed to the election commissioner, BJP leader- Adv. Ravi Vyas stated complaints of missing names from voter lists via unverified deletions have surfaced from various polling stations in the Mira Bhayandar (45) and Ovala-Majiwada (146) assembly constituencies.
“People living in the region for the past more than 20 to 25 years found their names missing from the electoral roll. Moreover, requests to allow voting by filling form 17 were also turned down by polling officers. At a time when we are urging people to turnout in large numbers, such lethargies are bound to create a negative impact and discourage voters.” said Vyas who has sought immediate inclusion of the wrongfully deleted names in the electoral roll of both the assembly constituencies.
Former legislator and senior Congress leader-Muzaffar Hussain had raised similar apprehensions on Monday. “It seems that names of members belonging to a particular community had been deliberately omitted. When questioned the electoral officers say that the roll was published, but how come the voters check their names among seven lakh people. ” said Hussain.
Echoing similar views, former Congress municipal corporator- Merlyn D'sa said, " People who had voted in the last general and other elections were shocked to learn that their names had been omitted. I directed them to meet the returning officer. Such anomalies are serious threat to the democratic process and the EC should take immediate cognizance."
While the overall turnout in the Thane parliamentary constituency stood at 52.09 percent, the Mira Bhayandar (145) and Ovala-Majiwada (146) assembly segments recorded a voter turnout of 48.95 percent and 50.72 percent respectively. In response to a petition filed in the Supreme Court last year, the Election Commission of India (ECI) had affirmed that names of voters will not be deleted from the electoral rolls without giving them prior notice.
