Amid growing complaints from both ruling and Opposition parties over duplicate names in voter lists, the State Election Commissioner (SEC) has announced that such entries would now be marked with a ‘double star’, including for the electoral rolls to be used for the BMC elections.
Explaining the process, SEC Dinesh Waghmare stated that once a duplicate entry is flagged, the officials concerned will get in touch with the voter and ask the person where they would prefer to vote. “Once a voter selects the polling booth, it will be mentioned in the voter list. And all other places where the name has appeared multiple times will not be available for voting,” the SEC said.
The SEC stated this during a press conference held in Mumbai on Tuesday to announce the poll schedule for 246 Nagar Parishads and 42 Nagar Panchayats. The voting for these local bodies will be held on December 2, and results will be announced a day later (December 3).
Explaining the marking process for duplicate names, the SEC claimed that in cases where the voter does not respond, the person will have to provide an undertaking stating that they will vote at a particular polling booth and not elsewhere. Asked whether this process will be applied for all local body elections, Waghmare said, “This process will be applicable for all elections, including the BMC. We have a tool to identify duplicate names.”
Asked about duplicate names in the electoral rolls, the SEC said, “Right now, we have referred to it as possible dubaar [duplicate names]. Only two days before voting day, we will have the correct number of duplicate voters.”
Also, one cannot rule out the possibility of extension in the cut-off date of voter list. “The Opposition had demanded that voters who had completed 18 years of age post July 1 (cut-off date) should be allowed to vote. Accordingly, the October 15 date was suggested as a cut-off. We have conveyed the message to the Election Commission of India. So far, there are no updates on the same. Once there is development, we will take further calls about the cut-off date,” said Waghmare.
The Opposition has also insisted on the use of VVPAT for the local body polls. Speaking on this demand, Waghmare stated that there is no provision for this in the system and rule book. “In many local body polls, there is a multiple post and prabhag (ward) system. Use of VVPAT is not possible for multiple posts and candidates. Hence, technically, it is not possible to use it for the local body election,” the SEC said.
Immediately after the SEC announcement, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anil Parab expressed concerns regarding the star marking and was skeptical about successful implementation of the new method introduced by the election commission to deal with duplicate names. “If one is registered in Palghar and the other in Mumbai, how will the election officials identify such voters?” Parab questioned and urged that the elections should not be conducted unless errors in the electoral rolls are rectified.
The elections for all local bodies are expected to be completed by January 31, 2026 — the deadline set by the Supreme Court to complete all local body elections in Maharashtra.
