With just over a week remaining for the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) elections, a peculiar question is echoing through the city's residential colonies and housing societies: "Which prabhag am I voting in?" The release of the final voter list has sparked a wave of curiosity and mild confusion, as numerous families have discovered that members living under the same roof are enrolled to vote in different electoral wards, or prabhags.
A Common Quirk Across the City
As residents across Nagpur scrambled to check their names on the voter list, an unusual pattern emerged. In many households, while most family members were listed in one prabhag, one or two individuals found their names registered in a neighbouring ward. This situation has become a hot topic of discussion in local WhatsApp groups, at tea stalls, and within apartment complexes, though it has not yet escalated into widespread public anger.
Aditya, a resident of central Nagpur, provides a classic illustration of this anomaly. His entire family is registered to vote in Prabhag 18, but he alone is assigned to Prabhag 19. "We all live together at the same address, which has been consistent for years," Aditya explained. "When I applied for my voter card, I submitted the same address proof as everyone else. Yet, on polling day, my family will head in one direction, and I'll have to go to another booth. It's become a running joke at home, but it does make you wonder how such a mistake occurs."
Double Listings and Voter Confusion
The confusion is not limited to single family members being shifted. In some cases, voters find their names appearing multiple times, but not in the correct ward. Ankita Bisen experienced this firsthand. While her husband and in-laws, all residing at the same address, are registered in Prabhag 36 and vote at a common booth, Ankita's name appears in the voter lists for both Prabhag 37 and Prabhag 38.
"My name is listed twice in the voter roll, but not even once in the prabhag where I actually live," Ankita said, highlighting the administrative headache facing citizens just days before they cast their ballots. This has left many voters uncertain about where they need to go on election day.
Official Explanation and the Way Forward
Election officials and citizens alike believe these discrepancies are likely linked to past revisions in electoral boundaries, ward demarcation exercises, or changes made during earlier delimitation processes. It is possible that during the redrawing of ward maps, certain lanes or buildings were split between different prabhags, leading to these overlaps.
A senior NMC official acknowledged that such issues can arise following boundary revisions and the periodic updating of electoral rolls. The official emphasized that the draft voter list is published specifically to allow citizens to spot and report such errors. "We advise all voters to thoroughly verify their details in the draft list and request corrections if needed," the official stated. "Once the final list is published, as per State Election Commission guidelines, no further changes can be made."
With polling day fast approaching, the primary focus for authorities remains ensuring maximum voter turnout. However, the quirky subplot of families splitting up to vote in different wards has added an unexpected and slightly bewildering layer to Nagpur's civic election narrative this season.
