Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has alleged large-scale discrepancies in voter rolls across Durg district’s urban local bodies, claiming that hundreds of voters have been shifted to different wards and polling booths despite no delimitation exercise being carried out. He has called for a fresh revision of the electoral rolls, an extension of the claims-and-objections period, and action against those responsible for the alleged irregularities.
KHABAR365 NEWS NETWORK
BHILAI: Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Thursday alleged serious irregularities in the voter lists prepared for the upcoming urban local body elections in Durg district, claiming that hundreds of voters have been reassigned to different wards and polling booths without any delimitation exercise.
Addressing a press conference in Bhilai, Baghel said voter rolls supplied to Congress district units reveal significant discrepancies across Bhilai Municipal Corporation, Risali Municipal Corporation, Bhilai-Charoda Municipal Corporation, Jamul Municipality and Ahiwara Municipality, all of which are scheduled to go to polls later this year.
According to Baghel, the revision process has resulted in the alteration of polling booths and ward allocations for a large number of voters despite there being no official restructuring of ward boundaries.
Calling the issue a matter of serious concern, Baghel said such changes could directly influence electoral outcomes and undermine public confidence in the fairness of the election process. He claimed that voters who have been residing in the same localities for years have suddenly found their names shifted to different wards and polling stations.
The former Chief Minister also raised concerns over the claims-and-objections process. He alleged that political parties received copies of the voter list only a day after its publication, leaving limited time to scrutinise the rolls before the October 30 deadline. He further claimed that Booth Level Officers (BLOs) were not available in several wards during the revision period, making it difficult for citizens to file corrections and objections.
Baghel alleged that, instead of assisting voters in their respective wards, many BLOs were working from municipal offices to rectify voter-list discrepancies. According to him, this itself suggests that errors had crept into the revised rolls.
During the press conference, Baghel urged the authorities to undertake a fresh review and updation of the voter list, arguing that large-scale changes in wards and polling booths cannot be justified in the absence of delimitation. He also demanded that the deadline for filing claims and objections be extended so that affected voters get adequate time to verify their details and seek corrections. Additionally, he called for a thorough inquiry into the alleged irregularities and sought action against any officials or individuals found responsible for errors or manipulation in the voter rolls.
Maintaining that accurate electoral rolls are the foundation of free and fair elections, Baghel said immediate corrective measures are necessary before the municipal poll process moves ahead.
Election authorities had not issued an official response to the allegations at the time of publication.
365 TAKEAWAY
With urban local body elections approaching, the voter-list controversy has the potential to become a major political issue in Durg district. If verified, allegations of voters being shifted across wards and polling booths without delimitation could raise questions about electoral transparency. The coming days will likely see increased scrutiny of the revision process, with opposition parties pressing for corrections while election authorities face the task of ensuring voter confidence in the system.