Ex-HP minister claims names of hundreds of voters missing from electoral rolls in every panchayat

Dharamshala, January 13

Former Himachal Pradesh minister and Congress national secretary Sudhir Sharma on Wednesday alleged that names of hundreds of voters are missing from the electoral rolls in almost every panchayat in the state.

He claimed his name, too, is missing from the electoral rolls and that most of the voters whose names are missing are those who share the Congress party’s ideology.

His allegations came ahead of the three-phase Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI) elections in the state to be held on January 17, 19 and 21.

There was no immediate response to his allegations from the State Election Commission (SEC).

There is a huge difference in the voter list of the SEC and the Election Commission of India. Hundreds of voters are missing from the SEC’s lists in almost every panchayat, Sharma alleged in a statement issued here.

He claimed that names of those who voted in the last panchayat and assembly elections and who even have voter ID cards are also missing from the voter list.

“Even my name has been found missing. When such kind of negligence or conspiracy can happen to an ex-minister, then one can easily understand the anguish of a common man,” he added.

Sharma claimed the names of voters were deleted as part of a “well-thought-out conspiracy” as most of them are those who support the Congress party’s ideology.

He said he would approach the high court so that the SEC can be questioned on the big difference between the electoral rolls of the last Vidhan Sabha elections, Panchayati Raj elections and the upcoming polls and why thousands of voters of the state are being “denied” the right to vote.

The counting of votes for the PRI elections will be taken up on January 22. — PTI