Cong alleges multiple discrepancies in Ludh west voter list
Ludhiana: After the administration released the voter list for the
Ludhiana West bypoll
, the Congress claimed to have found multiple discrepancies in the voter lists, for which the party will file objections.
Congress alleged that about 40 votes in ward number 65 of Haibowal area had been excluded from the list.
The party also said that the people whose votes had been excluded had been exercising their franchise for years. In ward number 72, Jawahar Nagar area, the Congress claimed to have detected double votes for people with separate voter card IDs.During the MC elections, several voters said that their names had been struck off the voter list. They said that since their names were not on the list, they were not allowed to cast their vote despite producing voter cards. The Congress blamed the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for this. When Ludhiana West bypoll was announced after the sudden demise of AAP MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi, the Congress raised suspicion of discrepancies in the list again. With the beginning of the electoral roll revision process in the constituency, Congress leaders claimed that a few voter lists were being manipulated. On March 31, Punjab Congress Working president, who is also Congress candidate for the bypoll,
Bharat Bhushan Ashu
, complained to the Election Commission of India about the manipulation of voter list by the Aam Aadmi Party govt.
In a letter to the ECI, Ashu alleged that the AAP govt was deleting names from voter lists "summarily and arbitrarily" without giving any chance to the voters concerned. Ashu claimed that he had enclosed voice recordings of additional deputy commissioner, Ludhiana, Rupinder Pal, instructing Booth Level Officers (BLOs) to fill Form 7 to delete names from voter lists.
Ashu also said that most BLOs refused to do so. He claimed that the local administration was making fresh votes to neutralise the impact of deleting a massive number of voters on the instructions of the Aam Aadmi Party govt."Our team checked the draft list of voters and found discrepancies. In Haibowal's ward number 65, about 135 voters were cancelled, of which about 40 genuine votes were also struck off. In fact, BLOs said that these were genuine votes but despite that, their names were deleted from the list. In Jawahar Nagar's ward number 72, multiple votes of one person were found. We are sending objections to get it all rectified," Ashu asserted. On April 12, there was uproar in Ghumar Mandi when Congress leader Inderjit Singh Indi, a close associate of Ashu, claimed to have caught a few individuals trying to manipulate the voter list. Two such incidents were reported in ward Number 61, Ghumar Mandi and Prem Nagar. Congress leaders said that they caught a few persons asking residents about their votes and "crossing" names of a few voters in the list. Indi alleged that these people were engaging residents in conversation to ascertain their political inclinations and which party they were likely to vote for. Indi said that based on this exercise, AAP was trying to get names of those critical of the state government removed from the list."After these incidents, we assigned one person from each ward to visit the DC office to keep a check on updates made in the electoral roll. There were attempts at making new, bulk votes, however, we kept a check daily and kept objecting to the bogus votes," Ashu said. Charges levelled
Congress allegations
: Discrepancies found in the Ludhiana West bypoll voter list Ward 65: About 40 votes excludedWard 72: Double votes detected with separate voter card IDs Previous Issues: Voters' names missing during MC elections.
People not allowed to vote despite producing voter card Blame: Congress accuses AAP of manipulating voter lists Complaint to ECI: Congress leader and bypoll candidate Bharat Bhushan Ashu will file a complaint with the Election Commission of India DC's response: Deputy commissioner/district election officer, Himanshu Jain, said, "I have not received any such complaint yet.
I will direct the ERO to address each concern on priority once it is received. De-duplication of votes will be addressed immediately. As far as the issue of votes is concerned, the ERO will get it checked through the BLO. Genuine votes can be made till the last day of nominations."Ashu's claimOur team checked the draft list of voters and found discrepancies. In Haibowal's ward number 65, about 135 voters were cancelled, of which about 40 genuine votes were also struck off. In fact, BLOs said that these were genuine votes but despite that, their names were deleted from the list. In Jawahar Nagar's ward number 72, multiple votes of one person were found. We are sending objections to get it all rectifiedMSID:: 121109519 413 |
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