The issue of alleged duplicate voters has come to the fore ahead of the Nagpur Division Graduates’ Constituency election, with Congress candidate Adv Abhijeet Wanjari claiming that around 8,300 voters have duplicate entries in the electoral rolls. Wanjari has raised the issue with the election administration, seeking immediate intervention to ensure that the alleged duplication does not create confusion during polling or affect the electoral outcome. Although the election authorities have not officially confirmed the figure cited by Wanjari, the issue has prompted the administration to swing into action following the Congress candidate’s intervention. The key concern is how voters whose names appear more than once in the electoral rolls will be identified and how the possibility of misuse of duplicate entries will be prevented. Wanjari termed the issue serious, arguing that the presence of such a large number of alleged duplicate entries could have implications for the election if the matter was not addressed before polling.

 

With the election to the Nagpur Division Graduates’ Constituency scheduled for October 23, he stressed the need for the authorities to establish a clear mechanism to identify such entries and prevent any confusion at polling stations. “This is very dangerous and can impact the overall calculation. How will the duplicate voters be identified? We have requested the Returning Officer to look into the matter. They could have identified the voters and stamped them as ‘Duplicate Voter’. If they are unable to do so, it will lead to chaos,” Wanjari said. The Congress candidate has questioned the preparedness of the election machinery to deal with the issue and sought clarity on the steps being taken to ensure that polling personnel can identify voters whose names appear multiple times in the electoral rolls.

 

He suggested that such entries should have been identified in advance and clearly marked to help polling officials distinguish them from regular entries. The issue assumes significance as the Nagpur Division Graduates’ Constituency covers six districts — Nagpur, Wardha, Bhandara, Gondia, Chandrapur and Gadchiroli. With the election process underway, clarity on thealleged duplicate entries and the procedure to be followed at polling stations is crucial to avoid disputes on polling day. However, the presence of duplicate entries in an electoral roll does not, by itself, establish that votes have been cast fraudulently or that every such entry represents an ineligible voter. The election authorities will need to verify the nature of the alleged duplication and clarify how such cases will be handled under the applicable electoral procedures. Wanjari has called for the Returning Officer’s intervention to address the issue before polling. The administration’s response and the steps taken to verify the claim will be crucial in determining whether the alleged duplication poses any practical challenge to the conduct of the election.