BENGALURU: Many residents of Michaelpalya are in a state of panic, running from pillar to post to find their details on the electoral rolls, often without success. At last count, around 3,000 electors from Michaelpalya are unable to find their details in the 2002 rolls.
“We are from two polling booths whose old details are nowhere to be found. Earlier our polling booths were in Sri Chennakeshava Primary School in Michaelpalya, under Varthur constituency No. 90, before delimitation and formation of CV Raman Nagar constituency. During the last parliamentary and assembly elections, we voted in Resurrection Convent School in Michaelpalya, but here our old details are nowhere to be found,” said PJ Alexander, president of Lower Michaelpalya Residents’ Association.
He said they had contacted the RO at the ward office in Defence Colony in Indiranagar, saying the voter list of Michaelpalya before 2002 was not traceable. “We also met District Commissioner Kantharaju. He said he will check it. We had also sought assistance from the area’s Booth Level Officers (BLOs). They said they were unable to scan the code printed on the enumeration forms and find our details. However, our names are on the rolls as we have got our forms. We are worried about deletion,” he said.
Association secretary Karthik PK said they have sought an appointment from the Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka, to address the issue.
When contacted, BLO Anthony Mary said she had communicated to the electors that their names will not be deleted from the rolls. She said the booth where votes were cast in 2002 was closed, but the data of the booth was not properly shared across, which is why they are unable to find their details. “But they need not worry.
Their names will not be deleted. They can leave the 2002 column blank in the enumeration forms. They cannot be given Form-6 as they are not new voters,” she said.
A senior election official admitted there could be many such cases coming to the notice of BLOs and EROs. Citizens need not panic if their 2002 rolls are not found, and leaving the 2002 column blank does not lead to deletion. They will have to submit supporting documents in the next phase of SIR for clarification and verification.
MP SAYS 13,000 NAMES DELETED IN HSR LAYOUT
Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya on Tuesday wrote to Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer V Anbukkumar, alleging that around 13,000 names have been deleted during SIR from polling station-53 at ward number 174, HSR Layout in Bommanahalli Assembly constituency. In the letter, he alleged that as on July 16, around 13,000 eligible voters were recorded as UEF-permanent shifting, without any proper physical verification which is a violation of the electoral process.
He claimed that block level agents (BLAs) were not informed and no permission was sought before recording the voters as permanent shifting and blamed block level officers (BLOs) of not following due procedures. In response, BLOs and other election officials said due diligence was being followed and all photographic evidence was available. Citizens are also cooperating. Anbukkumar said the issue will be looked into and a report from the district election officer will be obtained.