The Himachal Pradesh Election Commission has written to the Kangra administration, ordering an inquiry into the omission of former state minister Sudhir Sharma's name from the electoral rolls for the panchayat polls. In a letter to the Kangra deputy commissioner, the election commission secretary sought to know how the Congress leader's name was omitted from the electoral rolls of Rakkar panchayat falling under the Dharamshala development block.
I am directed to request you to conduct an inquiry in this regard and send a report to the commission within seven days from the receipt of this letter with your comments, the secretary said in the letter. Last week, the former state urban development minister had alleged that names of hundreds of voters are missing from the electoral rolls in almost every panchayat in the state. Sharma said his name, too, is missing from the electoral rolls and that most voters whose names are missing believe in the Congress ideology. "Even my name has been found missing. When such kind of negligence or conspiracy can happen to an ex-minister, then one can easily understand the anguish of a common man," he had said, claiming that it was a" well thought-out conspiracy".
In the first round of three-phase elections in the state, 1,227 panchayats went to polls on Sunday. The remaining two phases are slated to be held on January 19 and 21.
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