Over 280 bogus voters with no house numbers in Kanigiri

A large number of bogus voters have been identified in Kanigiri constituency. While around 280 voters were registered without house numbers, 20 voters who had their names in the voters list had died 10 to 5 years back. The ECI has initiated efforts to delete the bogus voters.

Kanigiri (Andhra Pradesh): In a democracy, it is the vote that decides the future of the people and determines the fate of the leaders. Some leaders in the Kanigiri constituency of the Andhra Pradesh's Prakasam district are allegedly pressurising the Block Level Officers (BLOs) to change the voters list. So much so that in some places, many voters were added on the same house number while several had no house numbers. Efforts are underway to remove all such bogus voters.

As per the norms of the Election Commission of India (ECI), every voter on the list has to be allotted a house number. In the first ward of Kanigiri town, 280 voters have been allotted no house numbers. These voters are located in Indira Colony, BC Colony, and Rajivnagar Colony

The shop of a man named Kondalarao is located within the premises of polling booth no. 142 of Kanigiri town. His house number is 498. Notably, more than 100 voters have been included under this house number.

In Kanigiri, Pamuru, Seelamwaripalli, and Peda Alavalapadu areas, 40 voters have been registered with house number '00' in booth numbers namely 100, 141, 263, and 228. Around 50 voters have house number '1-1', 70 voters have house number '000' and 150 voters have no house numbers at all.

This apart, the voters list includes names of around 20 voters of Garlapet Road who have died 10 or 5 years back. Though the names were supposed to have been deleted from the list, the deletion process has not been undertaken till now.

For instance, it has been five years since Veera Ramakrishna from Kanigiri died but, his name still features in the voters list. When the list was examined, it was revealed that it carried the photograph of someone else instead of Ramakrishna. His relatives said that they do not know the identity of the person whose photograph is being displayed.

Although the ECI had directed that the volunteers should not interfere in the preparation of voters list, it has not been properly implemented in the Kanigiri constituency. It is being alleged that the goof-ups were created by the political parties by pressurising the BLOs. The commission has sought an explanation from the Kanigiri Revenue Divisional Officer T Ajaykumar.