Ludhiana: Oppn stages protest alleging voter list discrepancies in dist

Congress, Akali Dal leaders alleges mass deletion of voters’ names from electoral rolls during block samiti, zila parishad polls

Allegations of large-scale deletion of voters’ names during the ongoing block samiti and zila parishad elections sparked protests by Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) leaders in several villages of the Mullapur block in the Dakha assembly constituency on Sunday.

Congress, Akali Dal leaders allege mass deletion of voters’ names from electoral rolls. (Gurpreet Singh/ht)

Leaders of the two opposition parties staged a protest outside the gate of a government school in Swaddi Kalan village after voters and candidates complained that their names had been struck off the electoral rolls. The protest was led by Congress’s Dakha in-charge Captain Sandeep Singh Sandhu and Akali Dal leader Jaskaran Singh Deol.

The demonstration followed complaints from an Akali Dal candidate, Gurdip Singh, alias Kaka, and several voters, including elderly residents, who alleged that their names were missing from the voter lists despite being enrolled earlier.

Addressing the gathering, Captain Sandhu and Jaskaran Singh Deol alleged serious discrepancies between the voter lists issued by the office of the additional deputy commissioner, Ludhiana, and those being used at polling booths. They claimed that different voter lists were available with polling staff stationed inside and outside the booths, resulting in hundreds of voters being denied their right to vote.

The leaders further alleged that while the returning officer for elections in the Dakha segment had traditionally been the sub-divisional magistrate (West), this time the SDM from Jagraon was appointed, allegedly with the intention of influencing polling at the booth level. They said that while the government was appealing to people to participate peacefully in the democratic process, voters in several villages were being openly disenfranchised, terming the situation a “blatant murder of democracy”.

Warning of legal action, the opposition leaders said they would approach the Punjab and Haryana high court if voters whose names had been deleted were not allowed to cast their votes.

Captain Sandhu also claimed that polling had been halted at a booth in Dholan village, while similar complaints were reported from villages including Hasanpur, Baddowal and Dakha.

Following the protest, officials from the civil and police administration assured the agitating leaders and voters that the issue of deleted names would be addressed and all eligible voters be given an opportunity to exercise their franchise.