BENGALURU: The recent seizure of thousands of voter ID cards has left the residents of SBM Colony in Mathikere worried. Reason: Early in January this year, a candidate’s associates had collected the original voter ID cards from the residents here, which falls under the Rajarajeshwari Nagar Constituency. The residents feel that this may have something to do with the bulk ID card seizures and fear that their cards might have been tampered with or duplicated.
The ID cards were collected in January to distribute free sarees at a Congress leader’s residence. They were returned only after two days along with a saree in a customised box. Sumathi, a resident of 6th Cross, said, “The supporters came door-to-door and asked us for the voter ID cards. Without an iota of doubt, we gave it. Now, I’m afraid that they may have duplicated our cards. No one told us not to hand over original ID cards to anyone.”Another resident, who did not wish to be identified, said, “I had lost my ID card. They asked me to give the ID card number which I gave. I also got the free saree. Now I’m not sure if my number has been used in those fake cards.”
Suvarna, a resident of 8th Cross, said, “I am afraid we may not be able to vote this time. I am also worried that they may have given us fake cards back. They have collected ID cards from every household in my street. Only on election day we will know if we will be able to cast our vote or if a fake person has already cast our vote using duplicate IDs.”
Another resident, Fatima, said, “Though the candidate provides saree every year during January for Sankranti festival, this was the first time they collected our ID cards.”Another interesting fact here is that the ID cards were collected only from the women in the ward and the men were asked to provide their voter ID card numbers. Most people gave their ID cards to the supporters and have got back their original ID cards two days later.