Mumbai civic body polls: Dead, missing listed but many living people absent in voters’ list
MUMBAI: The voting turnout in elections for Asia’s richest municipal corporation may have broken records at 55 per cent, up from 44.75 per cent in 2012, in a largely peaceful polls, except for a protest in Mankhurd ward leading to police lathi-charge, on Tuesday.
But the frustration of the voters being denied the right to exercise their franchise was greater, as over 12 lakh names were missing from the voters’ lists. The Mankhurd protesters were complaining about their names not being included in the voters’ list. Strangely, some voters’ list had names of voters who were “dead or missing” over the last 25 years.
Bandra’s MIG Colony had 100 names missing from the voters’ list. Same was tge case in Ghatkopar (West), Kala- chowkie, Malad, Mankhurd, Chembur, Govandi, Dadar, IC Colony, Khar, Andheri East, Mulund, Bohri Mohalla and other areas of the city where the voters displayed Aadhar or Voter Identity cards as their names were mising from the voters’ list.
One voter — Manjit Kaur Sandhu of Adarsh Nagar — said she had cancelled the names of his deceased fatherin-law and missing brotherin-law over 25 years ago, but both names figured in the 2017 voters’ list. Strangely, she and her husband didn’t find their names in the list and had to return without casting their votes.
An elderly couple waited for three hours to vote but was turned away as their names too were not on the voters’ list. Imtiaz Shaikh of Govandi, who came to vote found his photo used in another voter’s name with the result that none of them were allowed to vote.
The BMC and SEC passed the buck to each other while refusing to take the responsibility. Vijay Khabale, PRO, BMC, said that the BMC had no role in preparing the voters’ list and had followed the list given by the SEC. The BMC had conducted surveys in 2012, which showed over one crore voters. This declined to 92 lakh, meaning 11 lakh less voters.
But, the BMC did not consider these as missing voters, he said.