14 lakh decrease in MP voters' list

Ashwini Shrivastava

New Delhi, Nov 23 (PTI) Madhya Pradesh, cental Indian
state will witness decrease of over 14 lakh voters in the
upcoming assembly elections on November 27, compared to the
numbers in previous polls.

According to the state Election Commission data, the
number of voters this time stood at 3.63 crore as against 3.78
crore in the 2003 assembly polls.

The names of 14.24 lakh voters have been deleted from the
electoral rolls as the election officials cited migration and
deaths the reasons behind the change in the list.

"Many people from the state have moved to neighbouring
states in search of jobs or for other personal reasons. While
some have died," a senior state election official said.

However, the number of service voters has increased by
more than 10,000. As many as 6,826 female service voters are
expected to exercise their franchise in the elections.

"There is an increase of 10,230 service voters. In the
last elections, there were 13,609 service voters in comparison
to 23,839 service voters this time," he said.

Extra police personnel have been deployed on sensitive
booths in the state for polls.

"We have asked authorities to make necessary security
arrangements for around 46,812 polling booths across the
state. Extra personnel have been sent to guard sensitive
booths in the state," the official said.

In the last elections, 1.97 crore men were registered as
voters while the number of women electorate stood at 1.80
crore. The number of polling stations were 41,436.

"Almost 90 per cent of voters have been provided with
photo identity cards as against around 59 per cent in the 2003
polls," he said.

Besides, the Election Commission has also approved a list
of 13 documents, including ration cards and driving licence,
which could be used as identity proof before exercising the
franchise. PTI AKV
RKM
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