MARGAO
An electoral roll verification drive conducted by an NGO has left several voters in Margao and Navelim shocked and surprised after discovering that their names were missing from the final electoral roll following the SIR process.
The verification exercise, initiated by the Shadow Council for Margao, has raised serious questions about how voters who had participated in previous elections now find no mention of their names in the updated rolls.
A resident of Colmorod-Margao, Vailankini Fernandes, expressed her anguish and sought answers from the election authorities after discovering that her name, along with those of her husband and daughter, had been deleted from the final electoral roll.
“When I am an Indian citizen and a regular voter, I want to know how my name has been struck off the electoral roll. No one has the right to deny any citizen the right to vote. In my case, my family members and I have voted in past elections, but our names are now missing from the roll,” Fernandes said.
Similarly, a young woman who recently turned 18 was shocked to find her name missing from the electoral roll. “After attaining 18 and a half years of age, I decided to get my name enrolled on the electoral roll. To my shock and surprise, my name is not included in the roll,” she said, demanding an explanation from the authorities.
A four-member family from Margao echoed similar concerns. Armed with their election identity cards, they questioned how their names could have disappeared from the rolls despite having voted in the previous election.
Shadow Council for Margao convenor Savio Coutinho told the media that fears surrounding the SIR process appear to have materialised. “There was apprehension among the people that the SIR process was initiated to delete the names of genuine voters. We have come across several instances in the Margao and Navelim constituencies where the names of genuine voters have been struck off the electoral rolls,” he said.
He appealed to voters across the state to verify their names in the electoral roll, warning that many may be unaware of deletions carried out during the SIR process.
“Over one lakh voter names have reportedly been struck off from the electoral rolls during the SIR process. On average, around 4,000 voters per constituency have been removed. This is worrisome because people may not even realise their names have been deleted. It is prudent for everyone to verify their names in the final rolls,” he added.
