Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation polls: Final voters’ list published, but uncertainty remains on ward system

The final voters’ list was uploaded by the PCMC election wing late on Thursday evening. However, several citizens could not see the list due to a technical glitch which, civic officials said, was fixed by Friday morning. Ahead of publishing the final list, the PCMC election department received 8,147 objections to its draft voters’ list published on June 23.

“The final voters’ list has been published with as many as 84,000 voters shifted to the correct ward or panel,” PCMC election department head Balasaheb Khandekar told The Indian Express Friday.

Khandekar said that though 8,147 objections were received, the letters contained the names of more than one or in some cases, hundreds of voters. “These voters sought a change in their ward as per their address. A majority of them live on the border of two wards. They argued that they lived in a particular ward, but they were given voting rights in the neighbouring ward and sought a correction. Accordingly, we have made the change. As many as 84,000 voters have been shifted to their rightful ward,” he said.

Khandekar said that though the figure seems high, it is only five per cent of the total number of voters, which is 14,88,129.

Additional municipal commissioner Jeetendra Wagh supervised the entire exercise. “As many as 1,000 staff members were put on duty to redress the objections raised by voters. Field surveys were done by the staff to find out where exactly the voter lived, after which panchnamas were done,” an official said.

Though the final voters’ list has been uploaded, PCMC election officials are now keeping their fingers crossed, hoping that the new government would not change the three-member ward system to a four-member system in view of the Supreme Court ruling on Thursday allowing 27 per cent reservation to OBCs. “If the new government adopts a four-member ward system, then the entire exercise will have to be revised, including boundary demarcation and preparation of voters’ list. As per our information, the proposal is before the Cabinet,” Khandekar said.

MLC and BJP women’s wing chief Uma Khapre said, “The issue is under consideration of the new government. So far, no decision has been taken by the new government whether to revert to the four-member system or retain the three-member system which was announced by the MVA (Maha Vikas Aghadhi coalition) regime.”

The BJP’s Pimpri-Chinchwad unit chief Mahesh Landge said, “Whether it is a three or four-member ward, it won’t make any difference to us. But it is up to the government to take the final call.”