Pune: Draft roll registers 71.89 lakh voters, citizens can check names till October 31

PUNE: The draft electoral roll for Pune district has registered 71.89 lakh voters, and deleted 54,584 names, election officials said on Friday.
Citizens, including those who have voted in previous polls, have two months till October 31 to correct and check their names either online or by visiting the election department office so that they can vote.



“The list is published online and copies have been given to election officials and corporators. Citizens can check their names and the polling booths ahead of the elections so that they do not face any issues at the time of polling,’’ deputy election officer Monika Singh said.

The highest number of deletions were in Pune Cantonment assembly constituency (10,033) followed by Parvati (8,059) and Bhosari (7,468) after undertaking due process of panchnama and final clearance from the booth level officer. However, the four-month drive saw only 20,264 new voter registrations.

Pune has a large number of voters in the fringe areas and booth level officers were told to continue checking even after the draft roll is published on September 1.

District collector Naval Kishore Ram said officials will ensure that all 17 lakh households with 71 lakh voters as per the electoral rolls are covered.

Housing societies that had conducted camps hope that the forms submitted are processed and names are added or deleted. Member of the Hinjewadi Citizens’ Forum Ravindra Sinha said those who have moved to Pune from other districts or from other states and have cancelled their voting rights in their constituency are unable to register after filling up Form 6. “Many eligible voters are unable to register because their cancellation is not reflected here,’’ Sinha said.

Chairman of Kharadi Citizens’ Association, Nitin Memane, said election officials have allowed online applications but there are server issues and the form cannot be filled up.

He said citizens who apply for and have their names cancelled in their former constituency find that neither their names appear there nor are they able to apply here. “There should be some mechanism to check for such names,’’ he added.