Civic body says 16,574 names have emerged as repeat voters in Thane in verification process

The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) has completed a comprehensive verification exercise to identify and verify potential voters in the January 15 civic polls, officials said on Sunday.

In a release, TMC said that 83,645 voters were examined in detail as potential repeat voters during the verification of voter lists.

“The verification revealed that the names and photographs of 67,071 voters are not matching, thereby confirming that they have not become repeat voters. In view of the findings of the verification, the star symbol appearing against the names of 67,071 voters will be removed,” the release quoted Deputy Commissioner (Election) Umesh Birari as saying.

He said, this will ensure that these voters can exercise their franchise without any inconvenience or restriction on the polling day.

“In the verification process, 16,574 voters were confirmed as genuine repeat voters as their names and photographs were found to be identical in the voters’ list. The star symbol in front of the names of such voters will be retained. Their names will be clearly marked as ‘repeat voters’ in the voters’ list,” Birari said.

He said such voters would be allowed to vote only after submitting a written undertaking in the prescribed format at the polling station declaring that they are voting at one place and only once.

“Special attention will be given to these voters to prevent any possibility of double voting. Polling officials will closely monitor the process. The verification drive was undertaken to maintain transparency in the electoral process, prevent double or fraudulent voting and protect the rights of genuine voters,” the release said.

It states that an accurate and error-free voter list is essential for a healthy democracy.