Mysuru: MLA Tanveer Sait held the Election Commission of India responsible for the errors in the Voter Identity Cards (Voter ID) as there are discrepancies found in the Part Number and the Polling Station Address.

Addressing a press conference at the Patrakarthara Bhavan here this morning, Sait said that these mistakes in the Voter IDs could lead to confusion among the voters as to where to cast their votes and as a result the voting percentage might come down.

A voter ID consists of the name of the State, Lok Sabha Constituency, ID number, Father’s name, Part Number, Polling station address. However, a few of the Voter’s ID in Narasimharaja Constituency is filled with errors especially printing of wrong polling booth address, he said.

Giving a few examples, Sait said for instance if the Part No. is 265, the polling booth address should be Government Urdu Primary School, Room No. 3, Kalyangiri. However, what is printed in the Voter ID is RGA Higher Primary School, Ghousianagar.

Similarly in another instance, if the Part No. is 261 the Polling Station address must be Government Higher Primary School, Mahadevapura, but what is printed is Government Urdu Higher Primary School, Kalyangiri.

In another instance the Voter’s ID shows Part No.226 with the Polling address as Government Lower Primary School, Ghousianagar whereas it should be TMA Pai Higher Primary School, Azeez Sait Nagar.

This shows a clear negligence on the part of the Election Commission which looks like it is done deliberately to mislead the voters, alleged Sait.

In spite of the Election Commission making all efforts through SVEEP (Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation) for compulsory voting, it is surprising that such discrepancies have crept into the Voter IDs. No voter in whose ID the Polling booth address is wrong would want to go in search of the correct booth that too in this hot sun as one would prefer top go back without casting the vote, he said.

However, this issue has been brought to the notice of the Deputy Commissioner Abhiram G Sankar, who is also the Returning Officer as also Mysuru City Corporation Commissioner and Assistant Returning Officer. The DC has promised to look into the mistakes and see that if new voter’s ID could be issued with correct Polling Station address, he said.

Meanwhile, the DC should stop printing and issuing Voter IDs  unless the correct Polling Station address is printed. This is not only the case in NR Constituency but also in other Constituencies in the city, he charged.

Former Mayor R.G. Narasimha Iyengar said that the Congress has written to the DC stating that the voter IDs should not be distributed unless the correct address is printed.

He has also pointed out in the letter that such mistakes might have occurred in the voter IDs in all the 65 wards of the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) and hence  should be immediately withdrawn and distribution stopped.

As there is no time, the corrected voter IDs must be issued immediately, the Congress has demanded in the letter.

Congress spokesperson H.A. Venkatesh, Corporator Shaukat Ali and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) Secretary Akbar Aleem were present at the press meet.