While Pune's biggest election-related complaint was names of thousands of voters missing from electoral rolls, some even faced the tragedy of finding themselves listed as dead persons.
Voters had a tough time convincing the election officers that they were indeed alive and while most gave up easily, Vadgaonsheri resident Suresh Uttam Deokar wasn't convinced.
He came to the booth with a valid voter identity card only to learn that his name was not at all listed in the voters' list. Refusing to give up, he went around to at least a dozen polling booths until he found his picture staring at him from one of the lists.
Unfortunately the picture was listed against another relative's name - a man who was dead for years.
"I have been voting here since 25 years. Infact all my family members are also enlisted here. It wasn't until I went through their list that I realised that the name against my picture is of a dead man whom we know through relation," said an exasperated Deokar.
Starting at 11 am in the morning, Deokar persisted in his efforts till 6 pm trying to convince election officers about the goof-up.
"Despite repeated requests and follow ups, the election officer refused to aid us. He said that if the photo had been missing he would have allowed voting but the presence of the voter's name in the list is a must. In this case, the name was that of a dead relative," added Jadav.
In Shivajinagar, Aditi Shirmule and her mother were shocked when they found their name missing from the voters list but their dead father's name still listed, when they reached CoEP, their allotted polling booth.
"Despite running across all centres we were unable to trace our name, but my late father Vishwanath Shankar Shirmule's name still happened to be enrolled with them and strangely his name was against an unknown woman's picture," said Aditi who has been voting in the same constituency since 30 years.
The dilemma of the voters who had responsibly come to the booth to cast their votes further increased when they weren't able to register their complaint too in this regard.
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