PONDA
In a keenly fought election between multiple candidates where even a few votes could make the difference, the enrolment of around 300 military personnel in the voters list has fired up a controversy in Ponda constituency.
While the Congress claims to have filed a complaint with the Election Commission about four months ago but had received no reply, the BJP and MG Party insists they were not aware of this development.
Speaking to The Goan, Ponda Block Congress President John Pereira said they were aware of these additional 300 military voters in the electoral roles of Ponda constituency, which has a little over 30,000 voters.
“We had even complained about this with the Election Commission about four months before the February 4 elections. We had demanded a thorough check in the process of enrolment, especially since these military personnel could also have had voting cards in their respective states,” Pereira said.
“Unfortunately, the EC did not reply to our complaint,” Pereira added.
Pereira said they did not get a chance to canvass in the military base at Ponda.
“Their rules are strict and locals are barred from entering military camps. Hence, we couldn’t canvass for our Congress candidate,” he said.
Many Congress supporters feel that the move to include military voters in Ponda constituency for the first time would benefit the BJP, since Defence Minister and BJP leader Manohar Parrikar would have had easy access to these military personnel.
Ponda's BJP Block President Vishwanath Dalvi has, however, rejected these allegations and claimed that he too was unaware of this additional enrolment.
“I was not aware about the enrolment of military personnel. Even if we knew about them, there was no way we could have been allowed inside the military camp to canvass,” explained Dalvi.
Ponda's MGP Block President Anil Naik also admitted that his party was unaware about these voters. “I only remember that the Congress had made some complaint in this regard,” he said.
Doubts are being raised on whether these 300-odd military voters were subjected to the standard procedures to enrol as voters, since very few people were aware of their addition to the electoral rolls.
When contacted, Ponda Constituency Returning Officer Navnath Naik told The Goan that the procedure to enrol voters remained the same, whether the voter was a civilian or military person.
“They have to go to the Mamlatdar's office and enrol as voters,” said Naik.
The voting may have completed, but political parties are already wondering about the implications of these additional voters for other elections.
Congress Ponda Block member Kishore Naik voiced concern over the likelihood that the 300 additional military votes could determine the outcome in the panchayat elections.
“This is because, wards have only a few hundreds of voters and this sudden addition of 300 voters can easily change the outcome of the election in the ward where the military camp is located,” he said.
