Voter registration an uphill task, row will make climb steeper: Mahadevapura residents

As the country debates the legitimacy of the “vote theft” allegations by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the hot topic seems to be a part of almost every conversation happening in Mahadevapura Assembly constituency. 

On Friday, Gandhi asked the state government to investigate the “vote fraud” in Mahadevapura, under Bangalore Central Lok Sabha constituency, claiming that over 1 lakh “fake votes” were created in Mahadevapura to ensure that the BJP won the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

This reporter visited the area on Saturday and while the claims have given rise to suspicions among some residents, others believe it to be “political propaganda”.

Irrespective of whether the claims are true or false, the episode has made residents of the constituency speak up about the hurdles involved in getting registered on the electoral rolls. 

With Mahadevapura having a high migrant population, the process of registrations and address changes is time-consuming and often leads to a dead-end, residents told DH. 

Murali, a resident of Whitefield, said his mother’s attempt to get registered on the electoral roll was rejected twice since they moved to the city from Hubballi seven years ago.

“All her documents are fine, but still her application has been rejected. The second time around, when we asked the local authorities for help, they said her registration was already done. When I questioned them, they backtracked and said they were referring to someone else. I found it suspicious back then, but let it go,” he said. 

Some also claimed that they had been discouraged by electoral officers to not change their address to Mahadevapura, as it was a “lengthy process”.

A Muslim resident from the constituency claimed that two members of her family had been deleted from the electoral rolls prior to the 2024 elections. 

“These are all deliberate tactics to keep voters away from the polling booth. Instead, politicians try to bring in voters who they can appease with inexpensive gifts like pressure cookers. We have been witnessing this since 2015,” said Jagadish Reddy, a Varthur resident. 

Between 2017 and 18, residents of Whitefield began a campaign called ‘Million Voters’ Rising’ to get the residents on the electoral rolls.

Organisers of the initiative found that between 2012 and 2018, around 66% of the applications were rejected.

Rahul Gandhi’s claims might have a negative impact on future elections involving the constituency, predicts Clement Jayakumar, a Doddanekundi resident.

“As it is, new registrations and address changes are a time-consuming process due to the sheer volume of people moving in and out of the constituency. Now, with these claims, officials are going to be even more cautious before making changes to electoral rolls. It may leave more people unable to vote,” he said.