As many as 78,762 people across the city enrolled themselves as voters during the special drive conducted in the 7,712 polling stations on Sunday.
K.R. Niranjan, Special Commissioner (Elections), told The Hindu that the special enrolment drive was received well. In Bangalore Central, 13,456 people registered, while 18,828 registered in Bangalore North, 16,434 in Bangalore South and 30,044 in Bangalore Urban. It being a Sunday, people were seen going to their designated polling stations across the city to find out if their names were on the voters’ list.
The polling for Lok Sabha elections in the State will be held on April 17.
Many voters whose names were missing in the electoral rolls, made use of the special enrolment drive on Sunday. They submitted forms with identity proof to authorities concerned.
Mohammed Haris, resident of Frazer Town, who was at the BBMP Girls’ High School on Robertson Road, said his wife’s name was not there on the voters’ list during the Assembly elections. “I didn’t want her to miss the chance to vote this time also. We wanted her name to be included in the list.”
Also queuing up at the polling stations were voters, who had changed their residence not only within the city, but also had migrated from other parts of the State and country. However, the personnel deployed at the polling booths were insisting that the applicants should ensure that their names were removed from the voters’ list of the constituency under which they were earlier residing.
Mohan Kumar R., who came to the polling station at Hanumanthanagar, was one such voter who had recently shifted his residence in the city. “I could not find my name and my wife’s name on the list due to the change of address. I was residing in Javare Gowda Road and recently shifted to 8th Main Road very close to my earlier residence. However, I will have to re-apply now for the enrolment,” he said.
The SMSes sent to the public regarding the enrolment drive also was one of the reasons for a large number of turning up at the polling stations to find out if their names were there on the voters’ list. Some of them said that till they received the message, they did not know that arrangements had been made for inclusion of names on the voters’ list. Revenue Inspector of Hanumanthnagar ward A. Prakash said a large number of people had enrolled themselves as voters over the last few days. We received 800 applications on Friday and 150 on Sunday morning, he added.
As on January 31, 2014, there were 72.62 lakh registered voters in Bangalore (BBMP limits). Between October 30, 2013, and December 6, 2013, 2.26 lakh names were added on the voters’ list, while 24,653 names were deleted.
