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MLAs allege big fraud in voters' list

Hundreds of names added, removed
Last Updated 23 May 2012, 21:09 IST

More than a dozen Delhi MLAs, mostly from the ruling Congress, have alleged massive fraud in the voters’ list for the recently-held municipal polls.

As per information, 12 to 15 MLAs across party lines have filed a written complaint with the office of Delhi elections minister Ramakant Goswami and demanded a thorough investigation into the matter.

“If so many MLAs have lodged a complaint about the bungling in voters’ list, then there is definitely some problem. It is a serious matter and the minister has taken up the matter with the state election commissioner,” said a senior Delhi government official.

While some MLAs alleged that there are 50 per cent to 70 per cent fake voters at some polling booths in their constituencies, others have complained about sudden deletion of names of valid voters before the municipal elections.

Still some others have claimed that a couple living under one roof was shocked to find their names not only in different booths but even at different constituencies.

Booth-level officers, who were drawn from different government departments to update the voters’ list, are being blamed for the fraud as they have no long-term interest and goes back to their respective departments soon after.

Mukesh Sharma, Congress MLA from Uttam Nagar, has complained that there are several thousand fake voters across different polling booths in his constituency. In his complaint to the election minister’s office, Sharma has mentioned the details of polling booths where he has detected the fraud.

“Thousands of fake names have been added to the voters’ list in polling booth numbers 158 to 173. These people were nowhere in the 2008 Assembly elections nor in the general elections of 2009. However, suddenly on October 1, 2011 thousands of name in these polling booths were added to the voters’ list.

Similarly, at booth number 76 (Navada village) and 91 (Om Vihar), more than 1,100 voters have been added in the last 6 months. On enquiry by our men, the names and address of people living there do not match,” wrote Sharma in his complaint.

Another Congress MLA from Model Town, Kunwar Karan Singh, alleged that over 7,000 valid voters and residents found their names missing from the list just six days before the municipal elections, and the area assistant electoral registration officers could not give any satisfactory reply about their deletion.

Mohan Singh Bisht (BJP), Anil Chaudhary (Congress) and Narender Nath (Congress) are among MLAs who have made similar allegations in the complaint before the election department.

“The department has received several complaints from MLAs about anomalies in the voters’ list. It is a serious matter and we will take up the issue with the state election commissioner,” said Goswami.

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(Published 23 May 2012, 21:09 IST)

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