Nashik: Senior citizens who were reportedly told by their relatives and political party supporters to vote for one candidate in each of the four electronic voting machines (EVMs) were left confused when they faced only two or three EVMs at the polling stations on Thursday.Older voters were also confused about why they should vote for three or four candidates. Some wanted to leave the process halfway, but election officials guided them to complete the process before leaving the booth.
“In my neighborhood, I know that only one person is elected as a corporator. If we have a problem, we raise it with them. So I should vote for only one person. Why three?” asked Ramesh Kakad, 79, a voter from Nashik Road area. He recalled that he had voted in the assembly and Lok Sabha elections and had cast only one vote each time.Some citizens were affected by confusion over whether there were three or four EVMs.“My son-in-law told me that there would be four EVMs, one from each ward. When I went to the booth, I found only two EVMs. I couldn’t decide what to do and even thought of voting for one person and then abandoning the other process. However, I was not allowed to do so,” said Shankar Patil (75), a resident of Kamatwada.The presiding officer of the polling station concerned said that they had pasted two samples of voting papers on a picture of an EVM, with separate names in four different colors representing four different sections of the district. “This is how we help older and confused voters understand the process,” the official said.There were also cases of names missing from the electoral roll, transferred to other districts, and families divided into several districts.Samarnath Banerjee (68), a resident of Mahatmanagar, could not find his name in the voter list of three polling stations where he and his wife had voted in the past. “After I got tired, they told me to search the name on the mobile app. Surprisingly, my name appeared on the list at Shivaji Chowk, Old Cidco,” Banerjee said. “So we traveled to that place and finally cast our votes,” Banerjee said, hoping the corporation would reduce such harassment in the future.The case of a family divided by the electoral machinery also came to the fore.The family, from Gangapur Road area, said its members were divided into polling stations and wards. “We are 4 voters in the family and we were assigned to three different polling stations in two separate districts. My son and I were in the same district, but in two different polling stations. However, my wife and daughter were included in the neighboring district, but they were at a common table. I wonder what technique they used to make these lists?” asked Sameer Pawar, a businessman.
