Chief Election Commissioner’s name missing in voters list

 Mr. Navin chawla, Chief Election Commissioner of India found his name deleted in the voters list. He had gone to the polling booth with his family to cast his vote.

The incidence attracted a lot of media attention and hype, albeit missing the main point. The above incidence only highlights the lacuna in the working of the commission as far as the maintenance of the electoral rolls are concerned. If the anatomy of the electoral rolls maintenance is examined the lacuna is not hard to find.

Whenever a person (A) moves to a new place, he has to get his name included as the new occupant of the new residence, so that his name gets shifted in the electoral rolls, to the correct (new) Booth. This is done in the new ward office online on the new ward PC. The lacuna is that the previous occupant ‘B’ names are deleted without notice to the affected person. The correct procedure perhaps would be to delete the person (A) names from his previous ward voters list. It is prerogative of the old occupant (B) to effect suitable change of address as far as he (B) is concerned, failing which his names will not be shifted. In Mr Chawla’s case he could have voted in the old booth, saving the embarrassment of media attention, for the wrong reason.

Let us hope the CEC sets the ball rolling at least now to correct this lacuna as manifested in the current election rolls maintenance procedures. Let us hope to be free of such embarrassments in the next general elections.

PSA