Over 14k voter complaints in state redressed via portal

Pune: Over 14,000 voter-related complaints from across the state, which were raised on the official grievance service portal, have been addressed by the election office since the polls were announced on March 16, state election officials told TOI on Thursday.

Of the total 14,753 complaints filed in the state, 14,368 have been redressed, said the CEO’s office.

Interestingly, the most complaints came from Pune district, with nearly 3,000 of them submitted.

Complaints range from voters being unable to find their name on electoral rolls to delay in delivery of electoral photo identity card (E-PIC) or in clearing voter registration applications, and more. These have been resolved at the district level, informed officials.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) had earlier announced the National Grievance Service Portal (NGSP) to help electors, political parties and candidates at national, state and district levels. The respective chief electoral officer (CEO) is responsible for addressing complaints at the state level, while district election officials must address complaints at their level.

The portal clearly lays out a timeline for clearing complaints. For instance, while the E-PIC should be generated in a maximum of 15 days, it must be delivered within a month thereafter; complaints related to shifting of assembly constituency need to be executed within 15 days.

CEO S Chockalingam told TOI, “The NGSP helps address voter queries and the assistant returning officer of each constituency is expected to resolve them. If a query is not resolved, the complainant can register on the portal again.”

He added that the state ranks third in redressal of voter grievances in the country. Nagaland ranks first and Gujarat second, with 18 and 7,124 complaints received, respectively.

In Maharashtra, the highest number of complaints came from Pune district, with 2,818 complaints. This was followed by 2,331 from Mumbai suburbs and 2,183 from Thane. The least number of complaints came from Hingoli district at 34.

The most complaints were of citizens who had not received voter ID cards, followed by those regarding delay in corrections in these cards. Other complaints were regarding voter lists, ballot slips, various ECI apps, political parties, polling day and more.

One complainant from Pune, Seema Sahay, had registered on the portal raising the delay in receiving her E-PIC. “There was some time taken, but at least the portal helped me get an answer,” she shared.

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