From missing names to being marked dead, some Mumbai voters face issues

Mumbai: Confusion gripped a few polling booths in constituencies like Mumbadevi, Worli, Byculla, and Bandra West, as some voters found their names missing or misspelt, while others were directed to polling stations that were different from those listed on their voter slips. One unfortunate 70-year-old man turned up to his polling booth only to discover he had been marked dead.
As a result, some Mumbaikars were forced to return home without casting their votes. Like Manohar B from the Worli constituency. The 44-year-old arrived at the Prabhadevi convent polling booth at 7:30 am only to find his name was not listed in the electoral roll.
“I had to visit three different locations,” said Manohar. “I live in Sai Sunder Nagar, and the polling booth used to be at a Prabhadevi municipal school. Then, it was shifted to a garden, and now it’s near the BMC office by Deepak Talkies. There are 14 buildings affected by these changes. Why would we take a cab to vote? It’s so inconvenient, and many people left without voting.”
In another troubling incident, 70-year-old Anthony Braganza, a resident of BIT Chawl in the Mumbadevi constituency, was shocked to discover that he was listed as deceased on the voter roll. “My name was marked as dead,” he said. “I had to sign a declaration form confirming my identity before I was allowed to vote.”
Braganza, who has lived in BIT Chawl his entire life, believes the error occurred because he was away in Goa when a survey was conducted. “This has never happened before—I voted in May [in the Lok Sabha elections]. It’s a shock and unfortunate that they declared me dead,” he said.
Anne D’Souza, 69, a long-time resident of Mazgaon, reached her polling booth at St Mary’s International School only to find discrepancies with her name on the voter list. “They had my name listed as Ani instead of Anne, and my husband Mario’s name was misspelt as Manino.”
D’Souza and her 81-year-old husband were asked to show their Aadhaar cards before being allowed to vote. “We insisted that our names be deleted to prevent anyone from impersonating us. We managed to vote but couldn’t find the symbol we wanted,” she said.
Anwar Virani, a 61-year-old resident of Bandra West, was frustrated to find his name missing from the electoral roll for the second time this year, after the Lok Sabha elections. “My entire family’s name was there except for mine. Last time, my details were noted down and I was told I would be able to vote in the next election,” said Virani. Despite carrying his Aadhaar card to the booth as advised, he was unable to vote after waiting nearly two hours.
(With inputs from Ateeq Shaikh)