‘Dead’ woman walks into booth, votes

Naina Mishra

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 19

A woman, who was shown “dead” in the official election records, faced difficulty in proving herself alive to cast her vote at Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 27-C.

Kanchan Rani, who resides in Sector 27, was taken aback on finding herself “dead” in the official electoral records.

When she walked up to an election official to show her voter slip, she was shocked on being told that she could not vote as she was “dead” in the records.

Kanchan told The Tribune, “I was told by a poll official, who was sitting outside the voting room, that I cannot vote as I am dead in the records. When I asked them how they marked me dead, the official said people at my residence told them that I was dead.” Disappointed with the officials, the woman reached a help booth outside the polling station. Kanchan was escorted by Sector 27 Congress councillor Devinder Singh Babla’s son to the polling booth.

The issue was taken up with an official, who showed the list in which it “death” was scribbled in front of her name. Later, the official spoke to the electoral officer, who allowed the woman to vote.

When Assistant returning officer Anil Kumar Garg was asked whether a Congress worker was allowed to escort voters to the polling booth, he said, “It has to be checked with the presiding officer whether the party worker was the polling agent or not. Anyone can go as companion and voter, but it has to be checked as the person in question entered the booth with a particular issue of a voter.”