Mumbai: The Maha Vikas Aghadi on Friday alleged that the names of thousands of voters have been deleted from electoral rolls for the Assembly election at the behest of the BJP-led Mahayuti. Names of 2,500-10,000 voters have been deleted from the rolls of each assembly constituency, the opposition leaders claimed. The MVA has also urged the Election Commission to stop the process of deleting names immediately.
Leaders of the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) alleged that the EC officials are working under pressure from the BJP. State Congress chief Nana Patole said that the BJP is misusing ‘Form 7’ to strike the names of voters.
“We expect the EC to be impartial and try to increase voter turnout. But there is no transparency in EC’s functioning and it is not working impartially. ED officers are working under pressure from the BJP. Names of thousands of voters have been deleted from the electoral rolls. We have received information that it is being done on the instructions of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis,” Mr. Patole said.
Form 7 is a voter application form for objection for proposed inclusion or deletion of a name in the existing electoral roll. The applicant using Form 7 must be a voter of the same constituency. The application can be an objection in respect of a registered elector or an objection to the proposed inclusion of an entry in the electoral roll of the constituency. The reasons for which names can be deleted include death, under age, permanently shifted, already enrolled in the electoral roll at the same place or some other place, not an Indian citizen etc. The onus of proof to substantiate the reason given for objection or removal of name lies with the applicant.
Leader of opposition in the state Assembly, Vijay Wadettiwar said, “Names are being removed from the areas where the BJP did not get votes during the Lok Sabha election. There is a conspiracy to delete at least 10,000 votes from each of such areas. Form 7 is being misused and therefore the EC must stop accepting these forms.”
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and leader of the opposition to the legislative council Ambadas Danve claimed that names of 6,000 voters were missing from the list in the Nashik Central assembly seat, and no cognisance was taken about this despite raising the issue with the collector. He also claimed that in Aurangabad Central and Sillod seats, represented by the ruling parties, nearly 27,000 voters were added to the electoral rolls.
NCP (SP) leader Jitendra Awhad demanded that the ECI publish a white paper on the voters list. “The way the election is being conducted is suspicious. It is shameful,” he said.
The Election Commission has announced Assembly elections in Maharashtra, which will be held for 288 seats in a single phase. The voting will be held on November 20 and the results will be declared on November 23.