In a significant development ahead of the MLC elections, a Samajwadi Party leader in Varanasi has raised serious concerns about errors in the electoral rolls. The complaint highlights potential issues that could affect the fairness of the upcoming graduate constituency polls.
MLC Flags Discrepancies in Family's Voting Booths
Samajwadi Party MLC Ashutosh Sinha lodged a formal complaint with the District Election Officer on Friday. He alleged that members of his family, who were all enrolled for the MLC graduate constituency at a single booth, now find their names scattered across separate polling centres in the district. Sinha demanded necessary corrections to ensure the electoral rolls are free of errors for a fair election process.
The MLC met with Divisional Commissioner S Rajalingam and District Election Officer Satyendra Kumar to present his case. He stated that when the electoral roll was checked, it exposed what he called "large-scale negligence and irregularities" in the voter list preparation process for the Varanasi division graduate constituency election.
Specific Details of the Irregularities
Ashutosh Sinha provided specific details of the discrepancies affecting his family. All forms for his family members were submitted at one address in Maulvibagh Colony, Siddhgiri Bagh, Sigra in Varanasi. According to the rules, they should all have been assigned to the nearest polling centre at Government Queens College.
However, the current list shows a different picture. Ashutosh Sinha's name is enlisted to vote at booth 46 (Tehsil Sadar Serial No. 92), while his family members are listed in various other booths across the district. The list includes Ramesh Chandra Sinha at booth 52, Tanu Srivastava at booth 71, Uma Sinha at booth 56, Jyoti Srivastava at booth 5, and Vishal Sinha at booth 18.
Official Response: Software Glitch to Blame
District Election Officer Satyendra Kumar addressed the issue on Saturday. He stated that software glitches had caused the errors, resulting in voters' names from the MLC graduate constituency electoral rolls appearing at different polling centres. This occurred instead of the centre nearest to the residential address mentioned in their application forms.
Kumar assured that these errors are being corrected as part of the ongoing process of receiving claims and objections in the voter registration process. He confirmed that the complaint filed by the MLC would also be addressed during this corrective procedure.
Widespread Issue Across Eight Districts
The problem appears not to be isolated to Varanasi alone. According to Ashutosh Sinha, similar irregularities have been reported in eight districts under the Varanasi division. These districts include Varanasi, Chandauli, Ghazipur, Jaunpur, Mirzapur, Bhadohi, Sonbhadra, and Ballia constituencies.
The MLC indicated that complaints are being filed with the District Election Officer in each of these districts. The consistent demand across all complaints is for immediate corrective action to rectify the voter lists before the elections.
This incident brings to light the critical importance of accurate electoral rolls in ensuring free and fair elections. As the correction process continues, all stakeholders will be watching closely to see how effectively and swiftly these software-induced errors are resolved.
