Flipping the list of voters at a polling station in Khajuri Khas for the MCD elections, 19-year-old Puneet Kumar was excited to vote for the first time on Sunday but was dismayed when he found his name missing.
“I came here to cast my vote. I noticed that my name is not there in the list. The authorities have no clue. I have been standing for the last few hours but no one is helping me.
People in North-East Delhi and several other areas complained that their names were not mentioned in the voter list. Delhi Congress president Anil Kumar was among those who could not vote after his name was missing from the list.
“My name is neither in the voter list nor in the deleted list. My wife has voted,” Kumar said at a polling station in East Delhi’s Dallupura.
Multiple queries sent to state Election Commission officials did not respond to the issue.
BJP’s Manoj Tiwari alleged that names of hundreds of voters were struck off in Maujpur and Yamuna Vihar areas of his North East Delhi constituency at the behest of the ruling AAP.
“I have spoken to the State Election Commissioner and lodged a complaint with him. Tiwari told reporters in Maujpur ward, “If necessary, we will demand cancellation of elections here.”
Nusra Jahan (62) reached the polling station in Bhajanpura to cast her vote, but was told that her name was not on the list.
He requested the authorities to re-investigate but in vain. An upset Jahan vents his anger accusing the officials of shoddy work.
“I have voted in many elections and now this is the first time I have been told that my vote is not here.
“I don’t know why this has been done. I asked them for an explanation, but they could not explain. Now I have to return without casting my vote. It is a mistake on their part,” said Jahan.
In Krishna Nagar (East Delhi), Ryan arrived to cast his vote with his wife. But the 30-year-old was unable to do so as his name did not figure in the list.
“I searched my name and also asked the officials but my name is not there in the list. Now I am going back without casting my vote.
Bundu (61) also faced a similar situation. He is a resident of Block E of Kajuri.
I have voted in the past but this time my name is not mentioned. I will go back home now,” he said.
Bundu claimed that some others in his locality also faced a similar problem.
Mohammad Salim, 57, of Jahangirpuri said he spoke to the authorities when he found his name missing but was asked to go to Samaypur Badli to fix the problem.
67-year-old Manushi Gupta along with her husband and two daughters arrived at MBS International School in Dwarka Sector 11, Southwest Delhi to cast her vote.
“When I showed my voting slip to the election officials, I was informed that my name has been deleted from the voter list, but they did not give any reason.
“However, my husband and two daughters could vote. I waited, hoping there might be some technical glitch, but I was disappointed that even after waiting for an hour, I could not cast my vote,” Gupta said.
For the MCD elections, voting was being held in 250 wards from 8 am to 5.30 pm and the counting of votes was on December 7.
Authorities have set up 13,638 polling booths across Delhi for the exercise.
As per the data shared by the State Election Commission officials, the total number of voters in Delhi is 1,45,05,358 – 78,93,418 males, 66,10,879 females and 1,061 transgender persons.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has 250 wards.
This is the first body election after the fresh delimitation. The erstwhile MCD, established in 1958, was bifurcated into three parts in 2012 during Sheila Dikshit’s tenure as chief minister.
Both the AAP and the BJP have expressed confidence that they will emerge victorious in the elections, while the Congress is trying to regain lost ground.
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