BMC elections: Complaints galore of missing names, clueless voters searching for changed polling stations

Mumbai, Jan 15 (PTI) Elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Thursday, held after nine years, witnessed numerous complaints of electoral roll discrepancies, missing names, and mismatches between online records and physical voter lists, leading to confusion and delays.

Election staff and workers of political parties involved in the process too echoed voters' grievances, with many claiming that voter lists provided to them carried poorly printed photographs, making verification difficult and time-consuming.

Senior citizens and disabled voters faced problems due to the absence of volunteers to assist them, inadequate signage, missing booth numbers on voter slips and a lack of guidance at polling centres.

Several voters as well as opposition leaders including MNS chief Raj Thackeray and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray alleged that the indelible ink used during the polling could be easily wiped off using sanitiser, acetone or even water, raising concerns about the possibility of impersonation or multiple voting.

Some voters complained that although there was no official ban on carrying mobile phones inside polling stations provided they were switched off, police did not allow them to enter with their phones. At some polling stations, posters stating that mobile phones were not allowed were also seen.

In several instances, voters reported that details displayed on the election commission's official app and websites did not match the printed lists available at polling booths.

Many voters said their polling booths, which had remained unchanged for years, were either shifted or merged without adequate prior notice, forcing them to go from one help desk to another in search of their names.

Sayeed Anwar, a resident of Crawford Market, said when he searched for his name on the Election Commission of India's website, it showed his polling centre at the JJ Institute, but upon reaching there, he was directed to the Musafirkhana polling centre.

"For the last several elections, we have cast our votes at JJ Institute polling station. Now we are being asked to visit another centre¦.The election commission should have also updated the booth details online instead of making voters run from one centre to another," Anwar said.

An election staff posted at a polling station in Dunne institute, Colaba, said that a large number of voters arrived at the polling station on Wodehouse road, unaware that their polling station had changed. They were guided to the correct polling station, he said.

"In the last two elections, we cast our vote at a polling booth opposite Kalachowki police station. But this time it has been shifted far away to a BMC parking facility. I also struggled to find my name in the supplementary list," Kalachowki resident Sanjay Shinde said.

A Shiv Sena functionary from Parel claimed several persons could not cast their votes early in the day as they went to their usual polling stations only to learn that the booths had been shifted. Many of them left for work without voting, he added.

In several cases, residents from the same building were assigned different polling stations located far apart. In some places, polling staff were seen assisting voters in tracing their assigned booths.

"I have been voting in the area since 2009 but for the first time found my name has also appeared in a list in Dindoshi where I previously lived. Election officials came to my house last month and took a written declaration that Dindoshi was my earlier address and I have shifted to Vile Parle. However, the double asterisk still remained next to my name," a Vile Parle resident said.

After showing the form he had filled earlier, officials asked him to submit another form and then allowed him to vote.

Meanwhile, a retired professor took an unusual step by submitting a list of four absent voters from her building to the G-North ward returning officer in Dadar, urging officials to remain alert against possible impersonation attempts.

Speaking to PTI on condition of anonymity, the 84-year-old said these four persons were currently abroad and expressed concern that someone might attempt to cast vote in their names.

The Returning Officer (RO) confirmed receiving her request.

Elections to 29 municipal corporations across Maharashtra, including Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, were held on Thursday. PTI KK KRK