Lakhs denied right to vote

Though Delhi’s population has increased by nearly 20 lakhs over the past five years (1998 to 2003), the number of voters in the Capital has risen by only 27,619, indicating massive under-registration and deletion of duplicate and bogus votes.

The final electoral rolls notified by the Election Commission of India for the December 1 Delhi Assembly polls have put the total number of electorate at 84,48,760. Statistics reveal that in 1998 the total number of voters registered on polling day was 84,20,141.

Based on these figures, demographic experts believe it to be a case of massive under-registration of electors resulting in the denial of the `right to franchise’ to lakhs of eligible voters. However, the Election Commission officials beg to differ and state that they have been able to successfully weed out bogus and duplicate voters from electoral rolls. However, the fear of the demographic experts at times seems to be genuine as ground realities indicate.

“I have been staying here for eight years along with my family, but I am not allowed to register myself as a voter here. I have been running from pillar to post from one office to the other for the last four years. Neither my MLA nor the Councillor has helped me,” alleged Savita Devi, who sells vegetable on a roadside near Badarpur in South Delhi. A migrant from distant Katihar in Bihar, Savita and her husband have not exercised their right to franchise since 1996, when they shifted to Delhi with bag and baggage in search of livelihood. She is not the only one.

Many like Daya Ram offer a feeble smile when asked which party he would vote this time. “Vote! What vote? First give me right to vote,” he said sitting in his tea stall at Palam-Dabri More. In the case of Delhi, where there is massive migration every year that too of males, the number of voters, demographic experts claim, should be 70 per cent of the 1.4 crore population, which works out to about 98 lakhs. “This is a huge gap. There is an urgent need to go in for a massive drive after the elections to enrol lakhs of such eligible voters,” they said.

A glance at the data released by the Election Commission reveals that the maximum number of 17,16,381 voters are in the North-West Delhi district, which has an estimated population of about 30 lakhs. The case of the VIP New Delhi district is a bit different and it has around 2,77,788 voters against a registered population of over 2 lakhs.

Experts point out to under-representation in electoral rolls in rest of the seven districts: South Delhi has 13,19,239 voters against an estimated population of about 25 lakhs; South-West has 9,29,713 voters against 18 lakh population; West has 13,67,396 voters against an estimated population of 22 lakhs; East Delhi has 9,80,668 voters against an estimated 15 lakh population, North-West has 3,48,923 voters against an estimated population of 6.5 lakh voters and North Delhi has 5,55,587 voters against an estimated eight lakh population.

The maximum number of 2,71,032 voters, as per the list finalised on November 15, are in Badli Assembly constituency in North-West Delhi, followed by Hastsal (2,63,780), and Badarpur (2,22,557). Delhi Cantonment has the least number of 76,757 voters. Female voters do not outnumber their male counterparts in any of the Assembly seats.