Voting will be an uphill race here

Residents of Mankhurd-Mandala municipal Ward 134 at Chembur are faced with a unique dilemma. Over 10,000 people, who live in the Congress-led ward, will not be eligible to vote in their area in the upcoming civic elections.

The area is home to more than 16,000 project affected persons (PAPs) caught in delays in various rehabilitation projects in the past year. Since the address on their voter cards are yet to be changed, they will have to go the distance to caste their votes.

The State Election Commission has issued a notification to allow PAPs to vote in their previous wards, but activists are baffled with the order. “The arrangement defies logic,”
says Simpreet Singh, activist with the National Alliance for People’s Movement (NAPM). “People will exercise their franchise in a ward where they do not stay.”

NAPM activist Zamila Mote, 25, who lives in the area, concurs. “We approached the local ward office (M-East) with the problem weeks ago, but we were told that it was too late to make modifications in the voter list.”