Himachal Pradesh Election Commission asks DC Kangra to conduct inquiry about omission of ex-minister name from voting list

Dharamshala: Himachal Pradesh Election Commission has taken cognizance of former Urban Development Minister Sudhir Sharma being omitted from the electoral rolls of Rakkar Panchayat falling under the development block Dharamshala. The Commission Secretary on Saturday issued a letter to District Election Officer Kangra regarding the matter and ordered an inquiry into the matter. In the letter, the commission secretary has asked Deputy Commissioner Kangra to investigate how the name of former minister Sudhir Sharma was omitted from his panchayat. The Secretary state election commission has written to DC Kangra, “I am directed to request you to conduct an enquiry in this regard and send a report to the commission within seven days from the receipt of this letter with your comments.”

Last week the former Himachal Pradesh minister and Congress national secretary Sudhir Sharma alleged that names of hundreds of voters are missing from the electoral rolls in almost every panchayat in the state.

He claimed his name, too, is missing from the electoral rolls and that most of the voters whose names are missing are those who share the Congress party's ideology. He claimed that names of those who voted in the last panchayat and assembly elections and who even have voter ID cards are also missing from the voter list.

“Even my name has been found missing. When such kind of negligence or conspiracy can happen to an ex-minister, then one can easily understand the anguish of a common man,” he added.

Sharma claimed the names of voters were deleted as part of a "well-thought-out conspiracy" as most of them are those who support the Congress party’s ideology.

His allegations came ahead of the three-phase Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI) elections in the state which started today on January 17 the next two phases of polling shall be conducted on 19 and 21of this month.