‘Why are we unable to give an IT-based voter list using Aadhaar, Artificial Intelligence?’

Mysore/Mysuru: The right to vote is an important prerogative of a citizen in a democracy and shockingly it has been found that hundreds of names went missing from the voters list in Mysuru and as a result, they were declared ineligible to vote in the recently concluded elections.

While the problem of names missing from the electoral rolls might not be new, the extent of the problem in this election is alarming. Both the voters and the Governments must share the blame for this.

The Government because it does a rush job just before the elections and as a result, many names are deleted due to the carelessness of the Election Section Officers or the Booth Level Officers.

Even the citizens have to shoulder the blame as till the next elections, no serious attempt will be made by them to ensure that their names are there in the list. They raise a furore only after they are unable to vote.

These were some of the issues that were discussed at the monthly meeting of the Mysuru Grahakara Parishat (MGP) held at Yadavagiri on Sunday. The theme of the meeting was “how Mysureans participated in the festival of democracy.” Speakers also expounded on the possibility of foul play in deletion of names.

Speakers opined that it is the business of the Election Commission (EC) to ensure that each and every individual gets a voter card. “Firstly, the EC gives advertisements in the newspapers. We all know the extent of illiteracy and the reach of newspapers. So a lot of people do not even get to know about the advertisements. Before every election, the EC must send its executives to households for the inclusion of names in the voters list. If it can happen for water and electricity bills, why can’t the same thing happen at least before the elections,” they questioned.

Has EC failed?

“Surprisingly, the EC which is able to conduct an elaborate election peacefully is unable to prepare a voter-friendly, foolproof voter list even after so many years. We are able to give world-class IT to developed countries but we cannot develop a system to prepare a voter’s list in this era of Artificial Intelligence (AI). It almost looks as though the EC or the Government is not keen to develop such a world-class latest IT-based list using Aadhaar and other tools,” speakers opined.

Another topic that came up for discussion was the use of money to lure voters to vote for a particular candidate. “With all the intelligent officers being present, is it rocket science that it is not possible to catch such illegal activities and prosecute the guilty,” the speakers wondered.

In many Constituencies, some supporters of candidates gave Rs. 1,500 to every voter who showed the inked finger and if they displayed the finger that has not been marked by indelible ink, they were given Rs. 3,000. Naturally, many preferred not to vote and took Rs. 3,000. “These are all reports from the public. When the general public knows about these incidents, how is it possible that the Election Commission has no clue,” they asked.

Head of the Political Science Department at St. Philomena’s College Prof. Anand, MGP Founder-President Bhamy V. Shenoy, Members Arun Kumar Shetty, Renu Agarwal, Vishwanath, D.N. Aruna Kumar, S. Shylajesha, Ajit, Prabha Nandeesh, B.R. Umakanth, Srishaila Ramanna, Padmavathi S. Bhat, Kushal, Geetha Velumani and others were present.