Major Irregularity Found in Pune's Voter List
The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has uncovered a significant discrepancy in the electoral roll for the forthcoming local body elections. The civic body announced on Thursday that the names of over three lakh voters appear twice in the draft electoral roll, raising serious questions about the purity of the electoral process.
Municipal Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram confirmed this alarming discovery while presenting the ward-wise draft electoral roll. He stated, "If the purity of the electoral roll is asked, over three lakh voters have been found to have appeared twice in the electoral rolls."
PMC's Limited Authority Over Voter List
In a concerning admission, the PMC revealed its inability to rectify this substantial error. Commissioner Ram clarified that the municipal corporation lacks the power to delete voters received from the State Election Commission. However, he assured that the administration maintains a list of these double entries and will use it to prevent any instances of double voting during the elections.
The draft electoral rolls have been made public to allow citizens to submit their suggestions and objections by November 27. These public inputs will be considered before the final electoral roll is prepared and published on December 5.
Wide Disparities in Ward-wise Voter Distribution
The PMC, which has a total of 35,51,469 registered voters across 41 electoral wards, shows significant variations in voter distribution between different areas. Ward 9 leads with 1,60,242 voters, closely followed by Ward 38 with 1,48,769 voters. In contrast, Ward 39 has the lowest count at 62,205 voters, with Ward 20 not far behind at 65,061 voters.
Commissioner Ram explained this substantial difference, noting that "the ward with the highest number of voters is mainly formed with newly merged villages where enrollment of new voters has been the maximum due to rapid urbanization in the area."
From these 41 electoral wards, 165 corporators will be elected, with four representatives each from 40 wards and five from one ward. The reservation of wards for women and different categories has already been finalized by the authorities.
Election Timeline and Public Participation Process
While the exact election date for the Pune Municipal Corporation remains unannounced, the Supreme Court has directed the state government to complete the civic body elections by the end of January next year. The elections were previously delayed due to a reservation quota challenge that reached the apex court.
The publication schedule for election-related documents is as follows:
- Ward-wise electoral roll: December 5
- List of polling booths: December 8
- Booth-wise voter list: December 12
Citizens can raise objections regarding missing names from local ward electoral rolls if they appear in another ward's list. Additional grounds for objection include cases where a name appears in the PMC electoral roll but is absent from the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections roll, and clerical errors in name, gender, or spelling.
Verification Process and Documentation Requirements
Voters wishing to submit suggestions or objections must provide supporting documents proving their residence. For multiple objections from the same housing society, a common application signed by the chairperson and secretary on official letterhead is acceptable.
Local civic body employees will verify all suggestions and objections by personally visiting voters' premises and collecting relevant documents regarding their residence. Importantly, only voters enrolled in a particular ward can raise objections about that same ward's electoral roll.
The state government declared in October that those enrolled in the voters' list till July 1 would be eligible to vote in the PMC elections. The previous five-year term of the elected body in the PMC ended in 2022, and since then, the civic body has been administered by municipal commissioners appointed by the state government.
In the previous term from 2017 to 2022, the BJP held power in the PMC. Although the BJP is part of the Mahayuti alliance along with Ajit Pawar-led NCP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, the party is likely to contest the PMC civic polls independently.
