Voters struggle for booth slips

(Voters without booth slip seek help of party cadres)

C Shivakumar

Chennai:

Senior citizens 79-year old Azizullah and 68-year-old Shan Begum wanted to vote in this election. The couple braved the weather to reach the polling booth in Karambakkam in Porur but to their dismay, they were forced to return as they did not have booth slip.

Waiting near the poll booth, the senior citizens were seeking help on how to locate their names from passers-by. A local political cadre stepped in and checked the name of Azizulah in the electoral roll and gave him a booth slip. But Begum, who had a voter’s identity card was denied the chance to vote.

The couple are among the majority of voters who were struggling to get booth slips, an identity to which ward they belong to and the the booth where they have to cast their vote, by the Election Commission.

“Most of the voters in the suburbs simply returned to their homes as they did not have booth slip and some were able to vote due to the presence of local political cadres who had the electoral list,” said a local policeman.

The Election Commission had tried to deliver the booth slips to the doorstep of voters so that the voters are not dependent on any party cadres or polling agents who can influence the voters.

But then the move backfired and voters were again dependent on the local political leaders who have been campaigning for their party by hosting a shamiana more than 100 metres away from the booth.

A local party functionary blamed the election commission as he was seen helping the voters with booth slips using the Internet in his phone. “Please vote for this number in the electronic voting machine,” he requested a voter after giving him the booth slip.

This sort of last minute campaigning just when the voter had to cast his vote did have some impact as many of the voters were undecided on whom to pick as their candidate. In areas like Nerkundram, there were more than 14 candidates. “The choice is huge and I could not vote for any particular candidate. I just wanted a change,” said Sathyaraj and his wife, who voted for the first time.