Adilabad: Both Telangana and Maharashtra governments have asked the people of 14 villages under dispute, settled on the borders, to vote for contesting candidates of any one state, and not two, in the Lok Sabha elections-2019.
The villagers here have been getting benefits from both Telangana and Maharashtra and have two voter identity cards issued by the two states. These villages have sarpanches from both the states.
It has been learnt that the Chief Election Commission took serious note of this issue.
Balubhav Danorkar of Congress and Hansraj Gangaram Ahir of BJP are contesting from Chandrapur Lok Sabha seat of Maharashtra while Soyam Bapurao of BJP, Godam Ganesh of TRS and Rathod Ramesh of Congress are contesting from Adilabad LS seat of Telangana.
The EC and the Telangana and Maharashtra EC’s took up the issue and asked the officials concerned to see that people use only one voter identity card and that they can vote for only one state, as per their wish.
The government officials of both the states said that a single voter voting for two candidates, contesting in the election, is illegal and that they will take legal action if anybody votes for two candidates.
Revenue officials of Kerameri in Adilabad district and Jivithi in Chandrapur district had visited the villages under dispute and created awareness against using double vote in the present Lok Sabha elections.
The revenue officials asked the people of the villages under dispute not to use double votes in the Lok Sabha elections to be held for Chandrapur in Maharashtra and Adilabad in Telangana on April11.
Revenue officials of both the states are making efforts to see that people of these villages use only one vote, either for Maharastra or Telangana, in the Lok Sabha election.
The land dispute between Maharashtra and united Andhra Pradesh has been pending, since the last seven decades, in the 14 villages.
Revenue officials of Kerameri in Adilabad of Telangana and Jivithi in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra visited the villages under dispute in Mukhaddamguda and Paramdholi gram panchyats and asked the people not to vote for two candidates.
Chandrapur and Adilabad MP elections are scheduled on the same day- April 11. In 2014, people of the villages under dispute had voted for two LS candidates on the same day but this time, officials will not allow them to do so. The officials have warned the people of taking legal action, if they vote for two candidates.
Limbadas Madhav Pathange, sarpanch of Mukhaddamguda gram panchayat that comes under the villages in dispute, said that revenue officials of both the states visited their villages and spoke to them over allowing only one vote to an individual this time, unlike in the past.
“The officials concerned said that using two votes is illegal and crime and even warned the people of legal action if anybody tries to use two votes in the present Lok Sabha elections,” Limbadas Madhav Pathange said.
He said that people of the villages under dispute had earlier used two voter identity cards they were issued by the both the states and the peoplevoted for contesting candidates from both the states, using two separate fingers, in 2004 general election.
Limbadas said the villagers asked the revenue officials to allow them members of each family dividing and someone vote for candidate of Chandrapur and some other to candidate of Adilabad.
But, the officials asked them to entire family vote for any candidate neither from Maharashtra nor Telangana. Limbadas said the villagers have not yet decided on the orders given by the revenue officials.
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