Mumbai voters’ troubles: Names missing from rolls, votes already cast, accessibility

At first, the officials stopped him from voting, but aft reaching retired to a adjacent enactment worker, the contented was raised, and helium was yet allowed to ballot utilizing a ballot paper. However, Surve remained unsure whether his ballot would really beryllium counted by the polling officials.

Confusion successful Dahisar

In Dahisar, respective voters faced akin confusion. Geeta Virendra Gupta, who arrived astatine the polling presumption astatine 11 am, was told that her ballot had already been cast. “My sanction and code are inactive the same, and I’ve voted successful my constituency aggregate times before, including successful the erstwhile Lok Sabha elections. This has happened earlier excessively — whenever I travel aft 10 am, idiosyncratic other has already formed my ballot and leaves,” Gupta said. She mentioned that during the erstwhile assembly elections, a akin contented arose erstwhile she arrived aft 11 am.

Gupta was told to hold until 2 pm, but she yet near without voting.

Sanjana Vishwakarma, different Dahisar resident, besides recovered her sanction was missing from the list. She was allowed to ballot utilizing a ballot insubstantial aft showing that her digit was not inked. “I was told idiosyncratic had already voted connected my behalf. I showed them my fingers with nary ink mark, and they past allowed maine to ballot with a ballot paper,” she said.

Names missing

For others, the occupation was uncovering their names connected the electoral rolls. Lavu Murlidhar Rane, a 44-year-old physically challenged elector from Mulund East, was frustrated aft discovering his sanction was absent from the list, contempt having voted successful the 2019 elections. Rane, who uses a instrumentality for mobility, arrived astatine the polling presumption aboriginal with his predetermination card, lone to find that his sanction was not connected the list.

“I checked the database astatine the centre and adjacent utilized the app extracurricular to verify, but it inactive didn’t amusement up,” Rane said. “I spent implicit 30 minutes searching and walking around, but I couldn’t find immoderate solution. It’s frustrating, particularly since I’ve voted present before.”

Documentation trouble

In the Shivaji Nagar-Mankhurd constituency, activistic Shaikh Faiyaz Alam raised concerns implicit discrepancies successful voters’ names connected documents. “Many radical successful our country had their archetypal name, ‘Mohamed’, spelled otherwise crossed assorted documents. The polling officials pointed this out, and arsenic a result, respective residents had to spell location to retrieve matching documents earlier they were allowed to vote,” helium explained.

Accessibility issues

Some voters besides expressed dissatisfaction with the determination and information of the polling stations. Abbas Jafferali, a Mumbra nonmigratory whose voting centre was astatine Bosco School successful the Kausa country of Mumbra, complained astir the mediocre information of the roadworthy starring to the school. “There was sewer h2o flowing crossed the constrictive roadworthy we had to transverse to scope the school. The mediocre roadworthy conditions and the ample fig of motorbikes made it peculiarly hard for elder citizens to get to the polling booth,” said the 75-year-old Jafferali. However, helium noted that erstwhile wrong the school, things were managed well.

Phone restrictions

In immoderate polling stations, the regularisation connected mobile phones created inconvenience. Mukesh Joshi (28), a elector successful Malad, said, “I had travel to ballot alone, but I discovered they weren’t allowing phones inside. I had to spell home, permission my phone, and travel backmost again to formed my vote.”

Shivam Joshi (30) echoed the concerns. “Even though the constabulary officers were saying phones are not allowed, they were unwilling to safely support them portion the voters went inside. Bringing phones to ballot has been a regular practice, and if authorities weren’t allowing them, they should person made alternate arrangements to guarantee elector convenience.”