MP EC directs Collectors to verify voter lists physically, flags 779 addresses with over 50 voters

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) [India], July 11 (ANI): The Madhya Pradesh Election Commission has directed all district collectors to conduct a physical verification of voter lists across the state due to irregularities found in the lists.
A total of 779 addresses have been flagged, with over 50 voters registered to a single address.
Speaking to ANI, Secretary of State Election Commission Abhishek Singh said that they continuously work on the updation of the voter lists and instructed the collector to verify the voter lists and fix the problem physically.
"We are continuously preparing for the upcoming elections, which include making EVMs ready, running training programs, and working on rules and regulations. Similarly, we work on updating the voter lists. When we checked out our voter list this year, we observed that there are some addresses on which over 10 voters are registered. We further made bifurcation according to the number of voters as 10-20, 20-30, 30-40, 40-50 and over 50 voters linked to a single address. We prepared the voter lists district-wise and then asked the district collectors to perform their physical verification," Singh said.
"If there is an issue with the voter's address, correct it. If there are any other problems, address them as needed. Therefore, it is a matter of alertness and continuous work; there is no discrepancy. The voter list is being analysed in various ways so that there should not be any shortcomings during the time of election," he added.
"The procedure of updating continues, and I have given special instructions after observing the issue. If any error appears, then the commission will act on it accordingly," he said.
The commission discovered 617,998 addresses with over 10 voters, 49,928 addresses with over 20 voters, 6,151 addresses with over 30 voters, 1,373 locations with over 40 voters, and 779 addresses with over 50 voters.
Meanwhile, MP Congress chief Jitu Patwari claimed a sudden increase of around 70,000 voters during the last two months of the 2023 assembly polls in his assembly constituency, adding that he complained, but nothing happened.
"During the 2023 assembly elections, around 70,000 votes were increased in the last two months in my assembly constituency. I have complained about it to the Election Commission of India (ECI), the state election commission, the district election commission and even before the High Court. Despite various efforts, the number of voters remained unchanged. I can't say that my election result was affected by it, but the fact that over 1600 locations in the state have a huge number of voters in a single address shows that the BJP knows how to manipulate elections. The verification of the voter lists should be performed in the state," Patwari said.
MP Minister Vishvas Sarang accused Congress of questioning the Election Commission's process only when they lose, suggesting they should focus on gaining public acceptance instead.
"Congress puts a question mark on the process of the Election Commission when it keeps losing. If they win, everything is fine. They should go among the public, create their acceptance and then participate in the political activities. The Election Commission is an impartial institution and a constitutional body. The Election Commission has been conducting elections in this country with impartiality all the time. But Congress leaders try to put pressure on every agency by discouraging them, which reflects their losing mindset," MP Minister Sarang said. (ANI)