The Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation (CSMC) was inundated with public grievances as the deadline for submitting objections against the draft electoral rolls for the upcoming municipal elections concluded on Wednesday. The civic body received a massive wave of complaints, primarily from citizens discovering that members of their own families were listed in separate electoral wards.
A Flood of Last-Minute Objections
According to official data, the poll authorities had received a total of 6,341 objections by Tuesday. Out of these, formal hearings had already resolved 2,445 complaints. The final tally for objections submitted on the last day, Wednesday, was still being compiled late into the evening, indicating a significant last-minute rush from concerned voters.
Families Divided on Paper, United at Home
The draft rolls sparked sharp criticism due to a recurring issue: families found their members scattered across different wards despite living under the same roof. Pravin Narkhede, a resident of Pratapnagar, highlighted the anomaly. He stated that while his and his wife's names appeared in ward number 28, his two sons were listed in ward number 19, even though the entire family resides within ward 19.
Another voter, Supriya Khadake, faced a similar predicament and promptly filed an objection. She expressed hope for a correction before polling day, noting the practical difficulty. "Otherwise, my husband and aged mother-in-law will have to travel to another ward to cast their votes," she said, underscoring the unnecessary hardship for elderly voters.
Activists Point to Systemic Lapses
Civic activist Sandeep Kulkarni, who assisted numerous voters in filing written objections, blamed glaring lapses in the roll preparation for causing widespread inconvenience. He pointed out that many voters lack the knowledge or time to navigate the objection process. "The civic authorities are to be blamed if the errors in electoral rolls result in voters failing to exercise their votes," Kulkarni asserted, holding the administration accountable for ensuring an error-free list.
When contacted, Vikas Nawale, the deputy municipal commissioner with the CSMC election branch, defended the process. He emphasized that citizens were given ample time to raise objections. "We received over 6,000 objections, and all those pleas were addressed as per the laid-down procedure," Nawale stated.
The upcoming election will see the city divided into 29 electoral panels (prabhags). Voters will elect four corporators from each of 28 panels, and three corporators from one panel, bringing the total number of elected corporators to 115. The resolution of the thousands of objections is now a critical task to ensure a smooth and fair polling process.
