Former chief minister and TDP president, Nara Chandrababu Naidu, on Friday complained to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) on several irregularities in the voters lists.
In a letter addressed to the CEO which is released to the media here, Chandrababu Naidu said that the ruling party is resorting to various kinds of irregularities and the prescribed procedure for enrolment of voters is not followed. The necessary changes in the electoral rolls are not being made as per the Electoral Manual-2023, he mentioned in the letter.
Though the Manual clearly specifies the procedure for deletion of multiple entries, the procedure is not complied with as still there are double or multiple entries of voters in several constituencies, Chandrababu Naidu said. Another important issue is that deceased voters’ names are still found in the draft electoral rolls and the prescribed action is not followed by the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), he noted.
Pointing out that the Rule 6 of the Registration of Electors Rule-1960 clearly specifies that the rolls shall be arranged according to house numbers, Chandrababu Naidu said that it is observed that the rule is being breached. This apart, ineligible persons are being enrolled through online registration with Form-6, the former chief minister stated and regretted that the names of the voters of the Opposition parties are being deleted under the directions from the ruling dispensation.
Expressing concern that till now there is no focus on such complaints made by the TDP leaders, he said that the Bulk Form-7 applications are not being accepted either through online or directly. Chandrababu Naidu demanded that those who are raising objections and who want certain names to be deleted from the voters list produce necessary evidence. It is really pathetic that in certain constituencies if the names are simply written ust on a white-paper they are being deleted from the rolls without any inquiry, he added.
Till today, the EROs are issuing notices to the voters causing inconvenience to them, the TDP supremo said and pointed out the clear guidelines issued by the Central Election Commission (CEC) with regard to either enrollment or deletion of voters. Though it is almost a month since the draft electoral rolls have been published, no decision has been taken yet on the objections raised by the TDP leaders, Chandrababu Naidu said.
Making an appeal to the CEO to initiate steps to ensure that there is no scope for recurrence of such irregularities in the final list, Chandrababu Naidu wanted the poll panel to issue orders to the EROs and the DEOs to take necessary action within the stipulated time complying with the statutory rules.
