Over 1.5 lakh names missing from electoral rolls? EC orders probe

BENGALURU: While Bengalureans were mocked for the low voting percentage in the Lok Sabha election, there were a huge number of eligible voters who were in for a shock when they went to the polling booths. Reason: Their names were missing from the electoral rolls. Now, after several people complained about this, the State Election Commission has ordered an inquiry into the deletion of names.
Hundreds of people had complained that their names were deleted for no reason and that they had to return from the polling booths disappointed as they could not vote on Thursday during phase-1 of voting in Karnataka.

“We have ordered an inquiry. But prima facie, there is no summary deletion done this year. Every deletion is covered by an application and inquiry,” said Chief Electoral Officer Sanjiv Kumar.Although many only complained about missing names, the issue was brought to the Election Commission’s notice by Prahallad P S, who teaches Sanskrit and English in a private college in the city. Based on his complaint, the CEO’s office directed the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner, who is also the District Election Officer, to look into the issue and submit a report within a week.

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BBMP Commissioner N Manjunatha Prasad however said no names were deleted without following proper procedure. The voters’ list revision was done strictly as per the directions of the EC, and booth-level officers went to each house to collect details while revising the voters’ list, he claimed.
Sanjiv said people who change houses believe that if they have voted earlier at a particular booth, their names will still be there on the list. But if the new occupants give a statement that the person does not live there, such names are deleted after due inquiry. “People must take the initiative to check before polls and file application to add their names,” he added.

In his petition, Prahallad expressed apprehension that over 1,50,000 names had been deleted from the voters list in the city and adversely affecting the prospects of a particular political party. In his complaint, he alleged that the deletions were made after targeting those voters known to be voting for candidates from that party.

“This is not in the right spirit. It is a very serious issue and there needs to be detailed probe to find out the reasons for deletion of names and how it has been done so that such things do not happen,” he said.

Prahallad P S also appreciated the prompt response of authorities. “Such action shows that there are many officers who are proactive.”On voting day, many in all three Lok Sabha constituencies in Bangalore — South, Central and North — had complained about their going missing from the electoral rolls. Some BJP leaders too had accused the officials of deleting names from the list with senior BJP leader R Ashoka demanding a probe by the Election Commission. The BJP is also contemplating filing public interest litigation in the high court.