Over 1.2 lakh duplications found in Delhi electoral rolls: Election Commission

NEW DELHI: Over 1.2 lakh duplications have been detected in the electoral rolls of Delhi, the Election Commission said today while asserting that a variety of steps have been taken to prevent bogus voting in upcoming assembly polls.

The EC's response came on complaints by Aam Aadmi Party and Congress that Delhi's electoral rolls carried names of a large number of bogus voters.

Writing to the two parties, the Commission said that 1,20,605 duplications have been noticed in the electoral rolls.

Quoting a letter written to it by Delhi Joint Chief Electoral Officer Rajesh Goyal, the EC told both the parties that while 89,017 entries have been rectified and published in the final publication of electoral rolls, the rest will be published in the supplementary list to be available on the last date of nomination.

The move comes ahead of EC's plan to announce assembly elections in Delhi in the coming days. EC is likely to hold the polls in Delhi, under President's Rule now, in the middle of February.

As per the final electoral roll published on January 5, Delhi has 1,30,85251 electors.

During the process of summary revision, which started on October 15 last, the Delhi poll body used 'de-duplication software' following which it found "probable duplicity" in the electoral rolls.

The Delhi poll body has constituted ADM level probe in each of the districts to identify the reasons behind duplicacy.

It said prima facie multiple applications by an elector, error at the level of data entry and technical glitches in the IT based platform can be attributed as some of the reasons for the flaw in electoral rolls.

Seeking to allay fears relating to fake voters, it said strict instructions have been issued to apply a thick layer of indelible ink to those who cast their vote. Bogus voting attracts jail term of upto one year or fine or both under the IPC.

The poll watchdog said it will also undertake focused publicity of legal provisions regarding bogus voting and and step up vigilance during the last 48 hours before the polls.

Alleging that more than 3 lakh voters in the capital had more than one voter ID card, AAP had last week approached EC and urged it to rectify discrepancies. Congress too had raised the issue of "bogus votes" before the Commission.