SIR: Voters in Shivamogga objected to as ‘shifted’ say they continue to live, vote there

Civil society groups in Shivamogga have pointed out that a BJP worker, Satish, has written to the Tahsildar seeking verification of the draft electoral roll in Part No. 186 of Tirthahalli taluk, stating that the voters listed there “do not reside” at the given address. In his representation, he has objected to the voters, stating that they have shifted to “different towns”. 

The representation, a copy of which has been accessed by The Hindu, contains a list of about 81 voters. As seen in other cases, most of the names in the list belong to members of the Muslim community. 

However, when The Hindu contacted several voters whose names figured in the objection list, they said they had not shifted anywhere and had been residing at the same place and voting at the same polling station for decades.