Kashmiri Pandits cry foul over ‘missing’ names from voter list

Many among the Kashmiri Pandit migrants in Jammu complained that their names were missing from the voting list for the Srinagar Lok Sabha bypolls that were held on Sunday.

They blamed the Election Commission for its cumbersome process of asking the Kashmiri Pandits to fill M-Forms, failing which, they say they are denied the right to vote.

To allow the Kashmiri Pandit migrants in Jammu vote for elections in the Valley, the Election Commission has devised the M-Form. However, the Pandits complain that the process of filling the form and meeting all requirements is very lengthy and cumbersome. They say that even though the process starts around two months prior to the polling date, they get to know whether their name exists in the voting list only on the polling day. Many who reach the poll booths are asked to return because their names do not appear in the final list for one reason or the other.

Speaking to HT, assistant returning officer (migrants) Zaffar Bandey said M-Form is a compulsory paper that Kashmiri Pandits should procure before polling. “Many fill incomplete forms. We even find forms which are left totally blank,” he said.

However, 47-year-old Bharat Bhushan Bhat, a native of Kangan in Kashmir said, “The whole exercise of filling M-Form and then not finding your name in the list is a sham. It appears that no one considers us part of Kashmir. It is just a formality.”

"It seems no one is interested in our votes,” he added.

It is estimated that there are nearly 32,000 Kashmiri Pandit migrants in Jammu that come under the Srinagar parliamentary constituency.