‘Humiliated’: Bishan Bedi After Name Missing From Voters’ List

Bedi in a tweet alleged that he was left clueless at the polling station as officials were busy taking selfies.

(Photo altered by The Quint)

Former Indian cricketer Bishan Singh Bedi alleged that despite filling the Form 6 application for the inclusion of name in the electoral roll, his name was missing at the polling booth when he went to cast vote on Sunday, 12 May.

Bedi, in a tweet, alleged that he was left clueless at the polling station, as officials and the police deployed were "busy taking selfies," adding that he "never felt so humiliated".

"I am terribly saddened/ashamed that our Acknowledgment/Receipts Dt 24/2/'19 shown below did not have our voting names in polling booth..I didn't know where to look as Polling Officials & Police were busy taking 'selfies'-Never felt so humiliated..all for the sake of Indian Democracy!" Bedi tweeted.

Speaking to The Quint on the matter, Singh added that at the stations, when the officer finally turned to him, he was told to go home and check whether his name was registered on the commission’s website.

“I was asked to go home and check my name online. But tell me, at the age of 72, how can I swiftly go home and check this. Plus, there was no computer in the vicinity. I was also asked to keep my phone in the car while the officials had there phone with them... All this should be readily available during an election of this magnitude.”

Bishan Singh Bedi

While adding that he hadn’t checked his name online before coming to the polling station, Bedi said that he had, indeedd, filled the Form 6 form in February.

“I filled the Form 6 application back in February. And since then, I didn’t check anything online since I am not very tech savvy.” 

Bishan Singh Bedi

Singh concluded saying, he “has no grudges over this incident”. However, he added that there should at least be computers available at the station for “such situations.”

Sixty constituencies across eight states voted in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections on Sunday.

Names Missing From Voters’ List, Many Delhi Citizens Disappointed

Bedi was not the only resident in Delhi who faced this problem during the polling on Sunday. Several residents across the state claimed that their names were missing from the electoral roll despite fulfilling pertinent registration and living in Delhi for "many years."

Speaking on the matter of missing name, Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Ranbir Singh earlier told PTI that the EC has been telling people to check their names in voter lists for the last six months.

"Several awareness campaigns were there. They should have checked names before going to vote. If their names were not there they should have filled form 6. We were accepting forms till 13 April," Singh said.

Previously, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party has alleged that lakhs of names of voters have been deleted, despite the poll body rejecting its allegations.