How can I get zero votes if I voted for myself? BMC poll candidate asks election commission
Representational Image. Courtesy: Mediadarshan.com
An independent candidate may have allegedly offered the first proof of ‘vote disappearance’ in the recently concluded BMC polls, after he urged the State Election Commission (SEC) to probe how he got zero votes when he had voted for himself.
The candidate, Shrikant Shirsat, told the SEC that his family members too had voted for him, but the finally tally showed that he had got no votes whatsoever.
“I voted for myself, so did my family members. But when counting of votes was completed, it showed that I had polled zero votes. This looks suspicious,” Shirsat, who contested from the Saki Naka municipal ward in Mumbai, said.
In his complaint to the SEC, Shirsat, who contested from ward number 164, said other candidates from his ward were mulling approaching court against ‘malpractices’ in counting of votes. In the 2012 election, Shirsat claimed to have got around 1,500 votes.
Interestingly, a total of 31 candidates had contested from ward 164 in the 2017 BMC polls and Harish Krishna Bhandirge of BJP emerged victorious.
The development comes amid allegations by some candidates who lost in recent Nashik civic elections, that EVMs were ‘manipulated’.
Earlier, parties like Shiv Sena and Congress had also hinted at approaching the court over similar concerns.
Meanwhile, another candidate, Gorakh Awhad, who contested from ward 151 has also complained to the Election Commission over disappearance of votes.
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