Ahead of the 2017 civic elections in Mumbai, Thane, Pune and other parts of Maharashtra, the Election Commission (EC) has deleted more than 17 lakh names from the electoral roll in the city and Thane.”A scrutiny of the voter list had revealed that several names were repeated or that many had shifted their residence. This neccessitated their deletion from the roll,” said a senior EC official.
“The deletions were carried out as a part of our continuous effort to avoid bogus voters. It has been done after giving proper notices and enough period for suggestions and objections. Earlier, door-to-door surveys andpunchnamas in case of absence of voters were held prior to issuing the notices,” state chief electoral officer Nitin Gadre told TOI.
“It is the responsibility of people to ensure that their names are on the list. If they find they are not on the electoral roll, then they can register within a year and cast their vote in the municipal elections slated for January 2017,” said suburban collector Shekhar Channe.