Dressed in crisp white khadi and the national flag pinned to his chest, a senior citizen walked into Division 9 polling station at Patamata as early as 8 a.m. to cast his vote in the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation polls. But, he had to leave disappointed, as he was not allowed to vote, despite producing his EPIC (Electoral photo identity card) and Aadhaar card.
This was just one among hundreds of cases across 580 polling stations in 59 divisions. Ironically, it happened with people who have enlisted as voters and have been residing in a particular area for the last more than 30 years.
However, for those who received photo voter slips earlier, it was a smooth affair.
According to guidelines issued by VMC Commissioner C. Hari Kiran, people can cast vote by producing any of the 20 identification cards such as Aadhaar card, ration card and driving licence.
But on ground, things were different. Those with EPIC did not find their names on the voter list or photo slip book. In some cases, the husband received the photo slip, while wife did not. In the 43 Division, it is learnt that majority of voters from Muslim and Reddy communities did not figure on the list. The total number of voters in this division is nearly 14,000, and over 3,000 were left out. In Bhanunagar, in several cases, husbands’ name figured in the 44 division list and those of wives in the 45 division. In one particular case, a person’s name in the 47 division figured in a division in One Town area.
Some residents of 8, 9, 55, 56 and 59 divisions complained that entire blocks were deleted from the list, despite they having EPIC and ration card.
In some cases, voters’ names were on the online list, but in the printed format, they were missing.
On the issue of missing names, the VMC Commissioner said voters would be allowed to vote even if the photo slips were missing. But, it was a tad late, as most voters who had come in the early hours had left disappointed.
