Voting in Thane Turns Into a Frustrating Maze for Many Residents
Like countless other citizens, I downloaded my voter slip online ahead of the civic body polls. The document clearly listed DAV Public School as my designated polling station. This location stood merely three minutes away from my home. Confident and prepared, I walked into the school with my slip in hand.
The staff at the entrance quickly informed me that my name did not appear on their voter list. I showed them the official slip. They dismissed it, claiming it was for the Assembly elections. I insisted this was incorrect. I had downloaded the slip just that weekend. My polling station was different during the previous Assembly polls.
A Wild Goose Chase Between Wards
Officials then directed me to check wards 5 and 7. The idea of moving from ward to ward, hoping my name might appear somewhere, felt completely impractical. Around the same time, another woman from my building encountered the exact same problem. She gave up after a few minutes of searching. I decided to stay and persist.
Soon, aides of a local leader arrived at the scene. I explained my situation to them. They proceeded to download the voter slip themselves on their phone. The information matched my slip perfectly. Since I was not leaving, one staff member finally made a few phone calls.
The Mystery Unravels Four Kilometers Away
Five minutes later, the mystery was solved. My actual polling booth was located in Patlipada, a full four kilometers away. A screenshot arrived on a staff member's WhatsApp. The name on the slip read 'Hina Khandelaval'. The spelling was wrong, but my EPIC number matched correctly.
I immediately took a rickshaw to the new location. At the booth in Patlipada, officials told me my photo was not available in their records. A woman on duty asked two young men sitting nearby if they knew me. They obviously did not. After showing my voter ID card and another government ID, an official used a marker pen to ink my finger. I was finally allowed to cast my vote.
Confusion Over Casting Multiple Votes
But the confusion did not end there. Voters in Thane had to cast four separate votes in this election. Yet there were only three voting machines present. One machine required two votes, divided by pink and white sections on the ballot. Most people in the queue were visibly unsure about the process. No one had done this before.
Senior citizens struggled significantly with the unfamiliar system. One elderly man took nearly ten minutes to complete his voting. When he finally finished, the entire room burst into spontaneous applause.
A Family Ordeal With Polling Station Errors
My husband faced a similar ordeal. His voter slip showed Neelkanth Palms as his polling station. His actual booth, however, was at DAV School. Thankfully, this was only a few minutes' walk away. A staff member outside Neelkanth Palms explained that many residents in the area were similarly affected by incorrect information.
After finally casting my vote, I called my mother-in-law. I recounted my entire ordeal and urged her to stay at her polling station. I asked her to insist that officials help locate her correct ward. She had just returned home after spending thirty completely unproductive minutes at her assigned booth.
Yes, casting a vote is our fundamental duty as citizens. However, the process should not be this confusing or unnecessarily difficult. The experience in Thane highlights significant gaps in voter information dissemination and polling station management that need urgent attention.
