MP Rajan Vichare demands thorough review

A significant number of unidentified voters in Thane Lok Sabha Constituency have raised concerns, leading Member of Parliament Rajan Vichare to request a thorough review of the voter list. The issue came to light during an all-party meeting convened at the Collector's office for the 148 Thane City Assembly Constituency.

Election Officer Urmila Patil disclosed that there were approximately 125,000 voters whose identities or addresses couldn't be verified in the 148 Thane City Assembly Constituency alone. Shockingly, this number recently surged to an alarming 1,000 additional voters, intensifying worries about the accuracy of voter lists.

Upon learning of this unsettling development, MP Rajan Vichare swiftly addressed the matter. He submitted a letter to the District Collector, facilitated by Thane Lok Sabha Liaison Chief Madhukar Deshmukh and 148 Thane Assembly Secretary Sanjiv Kulkarni, expressing deep concerns about the situation. In his letter, MP Vichare questioned the credibility of the voter list, particularly highlighting the discrepancy of 125,000 unidentified or relocated voters within a single assembly constituency of the 25 Thane Lok Sabha constituencies. This led him to wonder about the potential magnitude of such issues in the remaining five assembly constituencies.

His letter also voiced suspicions that certain political entities might be involved in maintaining these dubious voter names. To address this uncertainty, he urged the District Collector to conduct a transparent and thorough double-check of the unverified voter names. This review would help determine whether these names should remain on the voter list or be excluded.

In response to MP Vichare's concerns, the District Collector has instructed Election Officer Urmila Patil to carry out the review strictly following the directives of the Election Commission, without any political interference.

To aid voters in verifying their status, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) has recommended that those with concerns about their voter status check the unrecognizable list on the Maharashtra election website. If their name appears as "Absent," "Permanently Shifted," or "Deceased" on the list, they are encouraged to contact the Booth Level Officer (BLO) of their respective division to confirm their status.

Furthermore, the demand for leveraging modern technology to simplify the process of checking one's voter status has been raised. Additionally, there is a request for election ID Form BLA 2 to be made available in Marathi instead of English.