JAGATSINGHPUR: Presence of dead, fake and duplicate voters in the electoral rolls has cast a cloud on the conduct of free and fair polls in the district. Sources said while each village has many fake voters, the district officials are yet to remove the bogus names from the rolls. The district has 9,04,099 voters, including 4,76,362 males and 4,27,622 females.

Social activist Prabeer Das alleged that despite frequent missives and reminders to delete the names of fake voters, steps are yet to be taken in this regard. Hundreds of dead and duplicate voters have been included in the lists of several villages in Biridi block. Citing examples in Puran panchayat, he said despite being dead, the names of Seba Barik (serial no 24), Sudam Charan Swain (718), Nisamani Mohapatra (398), Khirod Bhoi (356), Rajkishore Bhoi (326), Pakei Bhoi ( 284), Bansidhar Das (224),  Gopal Charan Das (210), Chitrasen Moharana (178), Kanhu Charan Swain (141) and Shantilata Das (989) have been included in the voter list of Chasikhand under Biridi block.  

Moreover, several duplicate voters have been found in the panchayat. The names of Khitish Chandra Nayak (serial no 504 and 506) and Kedarnath Rout (763 and 767) have been included twice in the list. Interestingly, a woman, identified as Nayana Swain of Mainidipur, alleged that her age in the voter list was mentioned as 66 and her son 70.

Puran sarpanch Subhadra Bhoi said on being directed by the Block Development Officer (BDO), anganwadi workers and ward members had submitted the names of dead and duplicate voters in a prescribed format for their removal from the list. However, the fake voters are yet to be deleted from the final list, she added.

Biridi BDO Girija Prasad Barik said, “We are yet to receive any allegations about presence of dead and duplicate voters in the rolls. If we get any complaint, the names of fake voters will be removed from the list.”