MARGAO
Call it a discrepancy or a deliberate attempt to shift a group of votes from one village to another, around 14 voters have realized to their shock and dismay that their names do not figure in the village electoral roll.
Instead, their names have found a mention in Ward 1 of the neighbouring Velim panchayat, throwing up a situation wherein they have been left with no option but to vote for a candidate of another panchayat.
That’s not all. If Velim MLA Cruz Silva is to be believed, of the 14 voters from Ward 6 of Ambelim, whose names now figure in Ward 1 of Velim panchayat, some of their family members have their vote intact in Ambelim.
Cruz has called for a thorough probe by the State Election Commission (SEC) to find out how the major discrepancy has cropped in when the Booth Level Officers (BLOs) are supposed to take care of such things at the booth level.
“As per the norms in place, the 14 voters from Ward 6 of Ambelim will have no option but to cast their vote, if they want, for the candidate of Ward 1 of Velim panchayat since their names figure in the electoral roll of the neighbouring panchayat,” Cruz said.
He added: "How come the BLOs who are supposed to rectify such anomalies allowed the discrepancy to continue in the electoral roll? I have been told that while the 14 voters from Ambelim are now shifted in Velim on the electoral roll, their family members still have a vote in Ambelim."
Incidentally, the Velim MLA has claimed that the 14 voters from Ambelim had cast their vote in the village in the last panchayat polls, demanding to know who’s responsible for the shifting of these voters into the neighbouring panchayat.
