Nagpur graduates' poll: voters with double entries made to write declaration on plain paper

As polling in the Nagpur division graduates' constituency election got under way, a significant development has come to light. On polling day, voters whose names appear more than once on the voter list are being made to write a four-to-five-line declaration on plain paper. They have to state that they are voting where they are present and will not vote at any other place.

The Congress party had submitted a letter to the divisional commissioner only a day earlier, demanding necessary action over 8,744 names appearing twice on the voter list. Some voters present there said the election machinery was probably making those with double entries write this declaration, that they would vote at one place only, because of that letter.

Abhijit Wanjari, the Congress's official candidate, alleged that there are 8,500 duplicate names on the voter list along with his. He described it as a matter of concern. Meanwhile, as voting in the Nagpur graduates' election went on Friday, it emerged that 22,000 voters have been registered using a single number.

Atul Londhe, the Congress's state chief spokesperson, said at a press conference that the Election Commission had been told about this repeatedly but no action was being taken. He asked whether the Election Commission was working for the BJP.

The letter to the divisional commissioner, issued in the name of Praful Gudadhe, says that a total of 8,744 voters' names have been found twice in the final voter list issued for the Nagpur division graduates' election. These names appear in the list of the same polling station or in the lists of more than one station. According to the letter, this is serious and worrying from the standpoint of the transparency of the election process.

The letter demands that the duplicate entries in the attached list be examined and necessary action taken as per rules. It asks that each voter's name be retained at the one correct place and the other, surplus duplicate entries be removed. It also asks that details of the measures being taken and the action taken be provided.

The letter also says that around 20,000 to 22,000 voters appear to have been registered using mobile number 5432154321. This, it says, raises questions about the genuineness and transparency of the registration process. It demands a thorough investigation, with a disclosure of the facts, into how registration on such a large scale took place on the basis of this number, what documents and verification process were followed, and whether the registration was done according to rules.

The letter concludes with a request that the 8,744 duplicate voter entries be examined immediately and necessary correction and action taken as per rules, and that the voter registrations made through that mobile number be investigated, with a full report and details of the action taken to be provided.