Close on the heels of the Election Commission censuring officials in Madhya Pradesh for bunglings in the voters’ lists, a similar controversy seems to be brewing in neighbouring Chhattisgarh where elections are due in November.As the Opposition — mainly BJP legislators — from Raipur visited the CEC with their complaints, the Commission agreed to send in a secretary-level officer there next week to assess the situation.‘‘The Commission heard us for nearly half an hour and they took a serious view of what we told them,’’ Ramesh Baish, Union Minister of State for Mines, who had led the delegation told The Indian Express.Baish said state BJP leaders were alarmed when state chief election authorities refused to furnish unrevised and revised voters lists to the political parties. ‘‘Our fears grew when state election authorities brushed aside our protests and told us in writing that political parties had not been provided with the voters lists due to the dearth of stationary,’’ Baish added.BJP leaders are alleging a major conspiracy by the Ajit Jogi government in depriving Opposition parties from obtaining the voters lists. Nanaki Ram Kanwar, vice president of the Chhattisgarh BJP, among the 14 legislators to meet the Commissioner, said: ‘‘Names of Opposition supporters have been deliberately dropped from the voters lists.’’ He asserted that on investigations a ‘‘scandal bigger than the Madhya Pradesh’’ is likely to surface from Chhattisgarh.Another glaring irregularity pointed out to the Commission is about the reported chairing of a meeting of the state Election Commission by a senior minister of the Ajit Jogi government. EC sources admitted they were startled by the ‘‘documentary proof submitted by the delegation to them about this episode.’’ The BJP has furnished copy of the minutes of the said meeting to the Commission.Baish said they also asked the EC to direct the Centre to rush in additional police forces to Chhattisgarh in the run up to the elections in view of the threats of violence from Naxalite groups.
