RAIPUR: A bizarre administrative blunder has reportedly surfaced in the voter list uploaded to the Chhattisgarh State Election Commission's official portal ahead of the upcoming municipal elections in the Birgaon Municipal Corporation.
The voter list uploaded to the State Election Commission's official website contains widespread gender reversal errors, marking numerous male electors as female and female electors as male.
The absurd inaccuracies have sparked bewilderment and amusement across the city while raising serious questions about the State Election Commission's digital verification process.
Birgaon is a municipal corporation on the outskirts of the state capital and is part of the Raipur urban agglomeration in Chhattisgarh.
Addressing the issue, Mayor Nandlal Dewangan stated, "Upon learning about the swapped genders in the portal's voter list, I immediately took up the matter with the Election Commission and the Municipal Commissioner.
Technical teams have been instructed to rectify the software without delay. In the current online database, many men have been marked as women and vice versa—including myself."
Commission officials stated that the discrepancies occurred due to an unexpected glitch in the portal's database software. Election authorities maintained that the physical, manual voter lists remain entirely accurate, assuring residents and political representatives that the technical errors on the online platform will be rectified promptly.
Interestingly, the glaring discrepancies have affected prominent political figures across party lines. The present Mayor, Nandlal Dewangan, is registered as a female voter.
Former Mayor Ambika Yadu (a woman) has been listed as male. Municipal Council Chairman Kriparam Nishad is marked as female.
BJP Mandal president Bhagirathi, along with local leaders like Rajkumar Sahu and Lakhanlal Sahu, has similarly been recorded with an altered gender.