In Noida, many find their names missing from voters list

There was evident enthusiasm among voters in Noida which went to the polls in the first phase of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, but many felt disappointed after finding their names missing from the voters list.

The constituency abutting Delhi recorded voter turnout of 58.18 percent.

The triangular contest here is between BJP's Pankaj Singh, the son of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Samajwadi Party's Sunil Choudhary and Bahujan Samaj Party's Ravikant Mishra.

Sabhajit Yadav, an auto driver who lives in Sector 8, said he was very disappointed on not finding his name in the voters list.

"My name was missing from the list. An Anganwadi worker came to my house to get the names verified. But when I went to cast my vote, they said my name was not in the Election Commission record," Yadav told IANS.

"We have been living here for more than 30 years. How is it possible that my name is not there on the list while my daughter's and my wife's names are there," he added.

A polling agent of Samajwadi Party in Sector 11 said there were complaints from a large number of people about their names being missing. An agent of the BJP in the area also seconded him.

Richa Bala, who came to the polling booth at Ghijor village, said that she had voted in the 2014 Lok Sabha election but was unable do so in this election.

Bala's friend, who was accompanying her, said she had called the prescribed toll number to lodge a complaint and got to know that 2,000 such complaints had already been made.

Lalita, who runs a shop at Ghijor village, also rued that she could not vote.

"I have been casting my vote here for the past 25 years. This time my name is missing from the list. My husband's name is there, but not mine," she said.

A booth level officer at Ghijor said they could not help those whose names were missing.

"If a person's name is there at multiple places, it gets deleted. People have to take care that they are properly registered at one address only," he said.

Contacted, Kumar Vineet, Additional District Magistrate, Gautam Budh Nagar, said that the list was publicised many times.

He said people whose names are missing might not have checked the list.

"There could be many reasons. They should have verified their names in the voters list before the elections," Vineet told IANS.

Roads in Noida wore a deserted look on Saturday due to holiday to enable people to vote.

Some voters did not hesitate to express their preferences.

"BJP is in power at the Centre. If they come to power in the state, there will be development here as well. Law and order situation is not good in Uttar Pradesh," said Rakesh Bhandari, a resident of Sector 11, who works in a telecom office.

"I think there is a contest between the BSP and BJP," he added.

Another voter, Kailash Mandal, a resident of Sector 17, said: "It is a contest between Samajwadi Party and BJP here in Noida. The BSP is a bit down."

"There is hope that Sunil Choudhury will win. He is an old candidate from Noida. With BSP contesting this time, BJP will lose votes," Mandal added.

(Sidhartha Dutta can be contacted at sidhartha.d@ians.in)

--IANS

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