Bangaloreans are shifting home so often that it’s playing havoc with the electoral rolls. As far as the Election Commission of India is concerned, Silicon Plateau ranks way below in terms of the electorate having voter ID cards. The EC recorded only 63% of Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) distribution in Bangalore till January. “The main reason is that the population is very mobile. We have noticed that some persons’ addresses have changed thrice in a year. This has made it difficult for to track the population and issue ID cards,’’ Chief Election Commissioner Navin Chawla said here on Friday. The good news is that over the past three months, EPIC distribution has touched 89%. A long way to go, given that some cities are have already reached 90% and above.
For Chawla, Bangalore has always been a big challenge. “US President Barack Obama called to congratulate me on completing the 2009 Parliamentary elections successfully. Nevertheless, the performance of Bangalore always disappoints me. This apart, the low voter turnout of 41% in Mumbai in the General Elections was also a disappointment,’’ Chawla, who retires on July 29, said.
Though he lauded chief electoral officers — S Suranjana and R Manoj — for their efforts to record 89.3% EPIC coverage, Chawla has set a deadline for 2011. The EC has targeted to distribute 714 million EPICs in the next one year. Expressing confidence that the Bihar assembly elections will be smooth, Chawla appealed to political parties to appoint booth level assistants to assist the commission’s booth level officers in preparing a perfect voters’ list.
Source : TNN
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