Two lakh bogus voters removed from Lucknow roll

LUCKNOW: The names of around two lakh bogus voters of Lucknow district were removed from the updated electoral roll to be published on January 15. The team of observers appointed by the Election Commission had detected huge anomalies in the district and ordered an inquiry during review of the roll after draft publication of the list.
For detecting the non-existent voters, booth-level committees were formed which were asked to find out if all voters existed in the constituency, said ADM Lucknow NP Singh.Singh was looking after the preparation of the list in the district. After door-to-door survey, it was revealed that some "voters" never stayed in the locality, said Singh.
The existence of so many such voters in a district alone has baffled many because one of the Lok Sabha seats in Lucknow district is held by former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. However, all over the state, 27 lakh "dead voters" were removed.
The 21 EC observers who returned to Delhi after making several rounds of the state, have told the officials that after photographs were taken, electoral photo identity cards (EPIC) should be made. Once the cards are made, these should be given to the genuine holders in 21 days failing which tough measures could be taken against the defaulters, said the OSD of Election Commission.
On the suggestion of observers, independent committees comprising representatives of political parties were formed. Each member of the committees were given names of the "dead or fake" voters and asked to find out if their supporters were there. Once the non-existent voters were identified, voters removal committees were formed. And with the help of these committees, they were removed.
Since the publication of the last census reports, not many names were struck from the electoral roll in Lucknow, admitted the official. This apathy on the part of officials had made the list full of bogus voters. Once the poll was over, many election petitions filed by the supporters of the defeated candidates had cited the flaw in the list but beyond that nothing could be done. Interestingly, no other district in the state had the distinction of enrolling such huge non-existent voters, said the official.
The observers of the EC also felt that no extension should be given for the publication of the roll. The government has assured the EC that stern action would be taken against those recommended by the Commission.