Chandigarh, May 8
The Haryana State Election Commission on Thursday said it remains committed to ensuring free, fair, and transparent municipal elections across the state, days before polling on May 10.
The statement came after the Congress alleged large-scale duplicate voter entries in the electoral roll of the Panchkula Municipal Corporation and sought immediate intervention from the commission.
State Election Commissioner Devinder Singh Kalyan said the commission has directed the Panchkula Deputy Commissioner to re-verify the voter entries highlighted by the Congress to maintain the integrity of the electoral process.
According to the commission, Congress submitted details related to 8,543 voters while claiming that more than 17,000 duplicate or identical entries existed in the voter list.
Kalyan said a detailed fact-finding report has been sought after scrutiny of the entries mentioned in the memorandum submitted by the opposition party.
The commission, however, noted that the complaint was filed after the deadline fixed for objections and claims regarding the electoral roll. It stated that all stakeholders, including political parties, had earlier been given adequate opportunities during the preparation and revision of voter lists.
Officials said objections to the draft electoral roll were invited till March 7, while appeals before the deputy commissioner could be filed till March 16. The final electoral roll was later shared with political parties on March 27.
The commission also stated that no objections related to duplicate voter entries were raised during the revision process or at the all-party meeting convened on April 22.
The Congress had raised the issue on Wednesday, with senior party leaders Randeep Singh Surjewala and Rao Narender Singh alleging that an independent ward-wise verification exposed duplicate entries across Panchkula’s 20 wards.
Polling for mayoral and ward councillor elections in the municipal corporations of Ambala, Panchkula, and Sonipat will be held on May 10. Elections for local bodies in Sampla, Dharuhera, and Uklana are also scheduled on the same day.
Meanwhile, the Haryana government has announced a paid holiday on polling day for eligible voters in the concerned areas.
