The issue of missing names in the voters’ list has come to haunt the 2019 Lok Sabha elections even after the Election Commission apologised for deletion of thousands of names from the electoral list in the recent Assembly elections in December last.
But the case of Shobhana Kamineni, vice-chairperson of Apollo Hospitals and daughter of Pratap Reddy, was even stranger. She successfully cast her vote in the recent Assembly elections. But to her shock, she found her name missing in the voters’ list on Thursday when she went to a polling station at Masab Tank to exercise her franchise.
“I returned from a business trip from abroad only a day before to cast my vote. But I could not do so as my name has been deleted. This is the worst day for me as an Indian citizen,” she said.
“Am I not an Indian citizen? Am I not counted in this country and is my vote not important? I feel cheated as a citizen. This is a crime against me as a citizen and I will not tolerate it,” she said flashing her photo identity card.
She also said there was no ‘Challenge vote’. “It was said just to make one happy. Who is trying to fool everyone here. Is our vote not important? I feel cheated today,” she said.
Explanation sought
The State election authority sought an explanation from the booth-level officer concerned on the deletion of the Ms. Kamineni’s name.
Initial enquires by the officials revealed that Ms. Kamineni has had two EPIC cards (WRH 1050657, KYJ2288397) in serial numbers 734 and 735 in the polling station number 49 of Nampally Assembly constituency since 2017. The election authorities noticed this as part of a summary revision of electoral rolls. Though one of the entries was supposed to be deleted as part of the de-duplication process, both the entries have been deleted, according to sources.
Responding to the issue, GHMC Commissioner M. Dana Kishore has issued orders for suspension of the booth-level officer and the computer operator concerned with regard to the removal of Ms. Kamineni’s name from the electoral rolls. Explanation has been sought from the Electoral Registration Officer of the particular polling station.