Leena Arjun Garad, President of the Kharghar Colony Forum and former Municipal Corporator of the Panvel Municipal Corporation, has raised serious concerns over irregularities in the voter list of the 188-Panvel Assembly constituency. In a letter addressed to the Sub-Divisional Officer and Prant Officer of Panvel, she highlighted widespread issues such as alleged bogus voters, duplicate and triplicate entries, and inconsistencies in the division of list parts, part numbers, and section areas.

The complaint comes in reference to a meeting held on March 18 by the Voter Registration Officer of the 188-Panvel Assembly. “Many voters from the same household have been assigned to different polling booths, leading to confusion. There are instances where family members—such as a husband, wife, and children—were allocated polling centers in entirely different locations,” Garad mentioned in her letter.

Additionally, she criticized the Election Department’s mapping process, calling it inaccurate and misleading. According to her, the section names mentioned in the voter list do not match actual locations, making the voting process unnecessarily complicated. She also alleged that the disorganized voter list was a result of negligence and deliberate manipulation by the existing political leadership.

“Panvel’s development was overseen by CIDCO, and the city has a structured demarcation with well-defined nodes, sectors, and plots. Despite this, the Election Department has failed to accurately categorize voter list sections,” she added.

Her letter also highlighted discrepancies in municipal elections, where voters are sometimes allowed to cast their votes in wards where they do not reside. Conversely, local voters often end up voting for corporators in entirely different wards, leading to a lack of accountability among elected representatives.

Garad has urged the authorities to take immediate corrective action to rectify these discrepancies and ensure a fair and transparent electoral process in the upcoming elections.