Amended rules leave 20,000 voters ineligible for Shimla civic body poll

Tribune News Service

Subhash Rajta

Shimla, April 11

Over 20,000 voters, residing in the Shimla Municipal Corporation area, have become ineligible to vote in the upcoming elections of the civic body following an amendment to the Himachal Pradesh Municipal Corporation Election Rules last month.

“In the 2017 elections, there were over 1.4 lakh voters. There are a little over 83,000 voters now. Over 20,000 voters are ineligible to vote in the MC elections following the amendment,” said an official.

What the rules say

• As per the amended rules, only those voters will be eligible to vote in the MC elections who are enrolled as voters within the MC area for the Assembly elections too.
• Earlier, Shimla residents could vote in the Assembly elections at their native places across the state while being a voter in the Shimla corporation too.
• In the 2017 elections, there were 1.4 lakh voters. There are a little over 83,000 voters now.

As per the amended rules, only those voters will be eligible to vote in the Municipal Corporation elections who are enrolled as voters within the MC area for the Assembly elections too. Earlier, Shimla residents could vote in the Assembly elections at their native places across the state while being a voter in the Shimla Municipal Corporation too. “As per the amended rule, voters will have to cast their vote for the Assembly and municipal elections at the same place,” the official said.

The ineligible voters, however, can become eligible to vote in the MC elections, if they get their names deleted from the electoral rolls in their Assembly constituency. “Such voters will need to apply for the deletion of their name from their constituency. Their names will then be added to the voters list for the Municipal Corporation elections,” the official said.

Besides the change in these rules, the number of wards, too, has been increased from 34 to 41 ahead of the elections due in June. With an appeal pending in the High Court over the delimitation process, the court has ordered a status quo and all election-related activities are on hold at the moment.

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