Voters missing from rolls trigger chaos, anger in AMC polls

Complaints of missing names from voter lists marred polling during the Amdavad Municipal Corporation (AMC) elections on Sunday, as several voters alleged they were denied their right to vote despite holding valid voter ID cards. The Congress party has accused the Election Commission of serious mismanagement, even as authorities had urged citizens to turn out in large numbers.

As polling began, enthusiastic voters reached booths across the city, only to find their names absent from the electoral rolls. Incidents were reported from multiple wards including Vastral, Ramol-Hathijan, Thaltej and Bodakdev, where voters said they had to move from booth to booth in search of their names. Many eventually returned home without casting their vote, frustrated by the ordeal in extreme heat.

A significant number of first-time voters, particularly those who had recently turned 18, also claimed their names were missing. In several cases, members of the same family were assigned to different polling booths, adding to the confusion.

In Bodakdev, residents of societies such as Vraj Villa, Yuganda, Rishabh, Preet, Maruti Row House, Chandramukhi and Gokul Row House said their polling wards had been altered, with some areas shifted to other wards overnight. Similarly, residents in Thaltej reported their societies being reassigned to Bodakdev, leaving many scrambling to locate their designated booths.

At Chandkheda’s booth number 30, voters from Olive Residency, Samanvay Residency, Panchblock Residency, Harimugat and Siddheshwari societies alleged that while their names appeared on slips distributed by political parties, they were either missing from official lists inside the booth or marked as “deleted” without prior notice.

In Ghatlodia and other areas, long queues and rising temperatures forced voters to seek help from booth agents and party workers to verify their details, leading to further delays and resentment.

Adding to the chaos, voters pointed out that official voter slips were not distributed by the election authorities this time, unlike Assembly or Lok Sabha polls where slips help voters confirm their details and locate polling stations easily. In Ahmedabad, BJP workers reportedly distributed slips door-to-door, while Congress workers were largely absent in this effort.

In Hathijan, a major discrepancy came to light where nearly 1,000 voters from an entire society — Pushpak City — alleged that their names had been deleted from the rolls, preventing them from voting altogether.

Reacting sharply, Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi said that lack of proper information and last-minute changes in polling stations led to widespread confusion. “Thousands of voters were left running from one booth to another. The Election Commission’s own system failed the voters,” he alleged.

With reports of booth changes made overnight and inconsistencies between official lists and party slips, questions have been raised over the preparedness of election authorities. Ironically, voters were deprived of their democratic right amid repeated appeals by the Election Commission to ensure maximum turnout.