Madhya Pradesh Assembly Election: Mistakes in voter lists will be rectified before polls, assures EC

Indore: The Election Commission (EC) on Monday admitted there were discrepancies in the electoral rolls in Madhya Pradesh and assured they will be rectified before the year-end Assembly polls in the state. [caption id=“attachment_4407809” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat. PTI[/caption] The poll panel identified over 6.7 lakh ineligible voters during a verification of the electoral rolls carried out in the state from 15 March to 7 April. Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) OP Rawat, however, said this figure is not very high given the number of voters in the state, where Assembly polls are due by the year-end. “Certainly, there are lapses (in the revision of the rolls). After a probe, ineligible names will be removed from the list and new names will be added so that before the coming Assembly polls, a correct voter list is prepared,” he told reporters. Asked whether he considers finding a large number of ineligible voters as a serious matter, Rawat said this can be looked in another way. “It should be looked this way — there are more than five crore voters in Madhya Pradesh and among them, only 6.7 lakh were found ineligible.” “This number is quite less comparatively and moreover many of them have passed away, but their names had not been deleted from the list,” the poll panel chief said. The CEC said in view of the ensuing Assembly polls, the voter list will be rectified and suggestions will be taken in this regard from political parties and people concerned. Rawat also informed that a process is underway to link Aadhaar number with the individual voter’s ID card. Asked about the suggestion of conducting the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls simultaneously, he said, “Unless necessary amendments are made in the Constitution and (relevant) laws, it is not proper for us to make any comment on the issue.” Before interacting with reporters, Rawat took suggestions of the ruling BJP and the main Opposition Congress on the issue of electoral rolls and poll process. MP Chief Electoral Officer Saleena Singh, in a recent release, said a total of 6,73,884 ineligible voters were identified in the state. These included those who have passed away and people who were not found at their given address.