BMC begins door-to-door verification after identifying 2.25 lakh duplicate voter entries ahead of civic polls | File Photo (Representational Image)
Mumbai, Dec 10: The BMC has identified 2.25 lakh duplicate voters within the wards out of a total of 11,01,505 duplicate entries. Of these, 50% — or 1.12 lakh voters — have been verified, and 41,000 were confirmed as actual duplicates within the wards.
The civic team will now conduct door-to-door visits to verify these confirmed duplicate voters, though officials believe that the actual number of duplicate voters might ultimately be only 15–20%.
Over 11 Lakh Duplicate Entries Found; One Name Appeared 103 Times
Ahead of the civic elections, the BMC has begun verifying duplicate names in Mumbai’s draft voter list. Over 11 lakh duplicate entries have been identified, including 4.33 lakh names repeated multiple times; in one instance, a voter’s name appeared 103 times.
Verification across 26 administrative wards has confirmed 2.25 lakh duplicate voters, half of which have been resolved. The remaining cases, including duplicates across multiple wards, are expected to be verified within the next 3–4 days, the BMC said.
Door-To-Door Verification Launched By BLO Teams
Dr. Ashwini Joshi, Additional Municipal Commissioner, said, “Door-to-door visits are being conducted to verify duplicate voter names. The responsibility for these visits has been assigned to Booth Level Officers (BLOs) along with election staff and officers from the administrative wards. During these visits, officials will meet voters and have them fill out Annexure-1. If a voter is not available at the time of inspection, a notice will be posted at their residence, requesting them to contact the respective ward office.”
11,497 Public Suggestions Received; 829 Duplicate Cases Remain
The BMC has received 11,497 suggestions and objections on the draft voter list across 26 administrative wards. Assistant municipal commissioners, appointed as authorised officials, have resolved 10,668 cases, while the remaining 829 pertain to duplicate voters.
“Based on these decisions, the process of preparing the ‘Control Chart’ for the final voter list is underway and is expected to be submitted to the Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) by Thursday morning,” said Joshi.
Control Chart Introduced To Prevent Cross-Ward Voting
The Control Chart has been introduced to ensure that voters are casting their votes within their designated wards. Vishwas Shankarwar, Joint Municipal Commissioner, said, “In cases where the number of migrated voters in a ward exceeds 100, officials have been directed to conduct a detailed verification of each house, building, lane, or settlement, strictly following the ward boundaries as indicated on Google Maps. As part of this process, officials must document their findings with photographs and certify their verification. Additionally, the official conducting the verification is required to share their live location, including precise latitude and longitude coordinates, to maintain transparency and accuracy.”
Also Watch:
SEC Extends Provisional Voter Roll Publication To Dec 15
As per the revised timeline issued by the SEC, the publication of the ward-wise provisional voter list has been extended from December 10 to December 15. Consequently, the authentication and final publication of the list, incorporating any corrections based on public objections, will also be completed on the same date.
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