GHMC polls: Names missing from voters' list

Hyderabad: Several names were missing from the voters’ list that was in possession of the election staff at the polling stations on Tuesday.

Among the significant ones were those of IPS officer Mr A.K. Khan and Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police Mr P. Ramulu. Rajya Sabha member Mr K. Keshav Rao and his daughter Ms Vijaya Laxmi, who is running for the mayor’s post, were spotted arguing with the returning officer over the missing names.

Many also did not know where the polling stations were located. Tollywood director M. Subbaiah complained that the directions given online were incorrect.

It was the same during the 2009 polls too when many could not vote as their names were missing from the list.

To avoid such incidents this time the GHMC had issued voters’ slips at polling booths, but still many names were missing.

As voting gathered momentum across the wards in the city, stray incidents of arguments and intimidation of voters were seen.

Reports of deletion of names from voters’ list trickled in from various polling booths across the city of Hyderabad.

Ironically, many of the complainants said that they had voted two years back and when they went back to the same polling booth this time, after a fruitless online search, they could not find their names.

At the Alwal Geetanjali School polling booth very few voters were seen and many of those who had come to vote were sent back by polling officials to get their voting slips, despite having identity cards.