Political parties fume over errors in voter lists, polling booths

Hyderabad: Political parties, especially from the Opposition, were up in arms over errors in voters’ lists and polling booths, with party members claiming that electoral photo ID cards (EPIC) were issued on open plots in Serilingampally.

Among other chief complaints was scattering voters from an apartment to different polling stations, with politicos also seeking better lighting at polling stations.

The issues came up during a meeting of chief electoral officer (CEO) Vikas Raj with representatives of BJP, TD, Congress, CPM and MIM on Tuesday.

The CEO apprised the parties of the Election Commission of India’s efforts to liberalise enrolment dates for youngsters aged 17, to expand the voter base.

Vikas Raj highlighted to those present the status of polling stations and basic facilities, such as ramps, drinking water, furniture, lighting, help desks, signage and toilets. He said government officers will focus on providing permanent facilities at all polling stations.

The CEO also informed party representatives of the importance of booth-level agents (BLAs) in ensuring fair and transparent elections, highlighting an insufficiency in numbers, as only 1,785 BLAs are available for 34,891 polling stations. He urged party leaders to increase the number of BLAs.

Vikas Raj said he has directed officials to ensure safeguards against deletions, the inclusion of photo-similar entries and logical errors at the data-entry level. He also highlighted the ECI’s special initiative to promote transgender participation, besides other marginalised sections, like tribals.  

N. Ramchander Rao of the BJP, G. Niranjan of the Congress, Syed Ameen Jafri of MIM, Ravula Chandrashekar Reddy of Telugu Desam, J. Babu Rao of CPM, and deputy CEOs Satya Vani and Hameed took part in the meeting.