From November 2, 2014, K. Ramachandran, a bank employee, has been struggling to get his name and that of his wife R. Jayanthi included in the voters’ list.
After he shifted house from Singanallur to Nethaji Nagar - both within in the Singanallur Assembly constituency, he had applied for a change of address.
“The very day the officials at the noon meal centre, which was a polling booth, gave me an acknowledgement for submission of form ‘8A’.
After a good six months in May 2015, he went to the noon meal centre to get his Aadhar card linked to the entry in the voters’ list. It was then that he learnt that his wife’s and his name were yet to be included in the voters’ list.
Incidentally, his son’s name was included.
From then on Mr. Ramachandran has been struggling to have the names included. After searching the online voters’ list to confirm that the names were missing, he emailed the Chief Electoral Officer on May 26, 2015. “That was only the first of the many emails I sent.”
He again wrote reminders in July, September, October 2015 and finally in April this year. “To not one of my emails I have had a reply,” he regrets.
With the help of the Coimbatore Consumer Cause he approached the election cell officials at the Coimbatore Collectorate. “A computer operator was able to trace where the mistake had taken place but he was unable to rectify it,” he recalls.
What had happened was that the people who had removed the two names from the voters’ list had failed to update those in the list. With the information, the officials promised him that he could find the names in the draft list released in January and again in the final list released a couple of months ago.
“Those remain just promises to date,” he recalls.
The officials suggested that his wife and he apply afresh for inclusion but he rejected the idea saying as he had applied for transfer of address, he did not want to do so, Mr. Ramachandran adds.
The consumer organisation’s secretary K. Kathirmathiyon says that 100 per cent voting campaign and voter awareness campaign fly in the face of bureaucratic apathy. “If the Election Commission wants voters to vote, it should ensure that all eligible persons are included in the list.”
District administration officials could not be reached for their comments.
After he shifted house from Singanallur to Nethaji Nagar - both within in the Singanallur Assembly constituency, he had applied for a change of address.
“The very day the officials at the noon meal centre, which was a polling booth, gave me an acknowledgement for submission of form ‘8A’.
After a good six months in May 2015, he went to the noon meal centre to get his Aadhar card linked to the entry in the voters’ list. It was then that he learnt that his wife’s and his name were yet to be included in the voters’ list.
Incidentally, his son’s name was included.
From then on Mr. Ramachandran has been struggling to have the names included. After searching the online voters’ list to confirm that the names were missing, he emailed the Chief Electoral Officer on May 26, 2015. “That was only the first of the many emails I sent.”
He again wrote reminders in July, September, October 2015 and finally in April this year. “To not one of my emails I have had a reply,” he regrets.
With the help of the Coimbatore Consumer Cause he approached the election cell officials at the Coimbatore Collectorate. “A computer operator was able to trace where the mistake had taken place but he was unable to rectify it,” he recalls.
What had happened was that the people who had removed the two names from the voters’ list had failed to update those in the list. With the information, the officials promised him that he could find the names in the draft list released in January and again in the final list released a couple of months ago.
“Those remain just promises to date,” he recalls.
The officials suggested that his wife and he apply afresh for inclusion but he rejected the idea saying as he had applied for transfer of address, he did not want to do so, Mr. Ramachandran adds.
The consumer organisation’s secretary K. Kathirmathiyon says that 100 per cent voting campaign and voter awareness campaign fly in the face of bureaucratic apathy. “If the Election Commission wants voters to vote, it should ensure that all eligible persons are included in the list.”
District administration officials could not be reached for their comments.