Pujari demands action against errant officials
A flaw in the electoral system has become crystal clear with an incident from Jharsuguda. A person has contested from the Jharsuguda Assembly constituency in a national party banner, but his name is not there in the electoral roll! It happened at a time when we never fail to boast that we are the biggest democracy in the world.
If a person’s name is not in the electoral roll, how could he file the nominations; how did his nominations remain valid and how was he allowed to be in frayIJ These questions are not asked by the Opposition parties in Jharsuguda, but by the party seniors that the person belongs to.
As per information, Anand Pradhan, a resident of Jharsuguda, contested from this Assembly segment under a BJP ticket this time. While filing nominations before the returning officer (RO) on March 21 last, his name was there in the voter list in serial no 128 of booth no 28.
“Basing on this, my nomination papers were accepted and I became eligible to contest the elections in a BJP ticket. But on April 10, when I came to exercise my franchise in Ward no 28, my name was not there in the voter list,” said Anand Pradhan in a media conference in Sambalpur in presence of former State BJP president and MP contestant for Sambalpur Parliament constituency Suresh Pujari.
Pradhan further said that he possessed the voter I-Card since 1994 and voted in all the general elections of the country. He was also a candidate for Samity Member in 2002 Panchayat elections. “So I fail to understand how my name is not there in the voter list of Jharsuguda town where I am a permanent resident,” wondered Pradhan.
“This is a clear-cut conspiracy against me to ensure that I can’t vote in the elections,” he alleged. Terming it as rarest of the rare incident in the country, Pujari said it is strange that a man becoming eligible to contest elections misses out on having his name in the voter list.“This is a shame on our system,” he commented, adding that the mistake is not a minor one and the ECI needs to take action on the persons responsible for the error. Pujari further brought out serious allegations against the election functionaries. “The voters are more conscious and aware of matters related to elections than our erring Government officials,” Pujari said.