Believe it or not, but Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat has no place to reside in the state capital. At least his voter identity card suggests so.
The voter ID card issued to Rawat does not carry any address, which is against the norms set by the Election Commission.
However, the poll body does not agree. The poll officials say it is a small matter and the chief minister can exercise his franchise.
Incumbent CM and sitting MP Rawat’s name does, however, figure in the voter list of Haridwar. After taking over as the chief minister, he has a new address in Dehradun, but his voter identification card does not show any address. But his names is there in the voter list of Dehradun.
In fact, form 6 of the voter ID card application has a mandatory clause to furnish address proof for the person willing to include his or her name in the voters list.
The address is then cross-checked by the concerned authorities and only then is the identity card issued.
But in the CM’s case, the norm seems to have been sidelined. Not only Rawat, but his wife Renuka has also been issued a voter ID card without any address. Renuka is contesting as the Congress candidate from Haridwar parliamentary constituency.
{{/usCountry}}But in the CM’s case, the norm seems to have been sidelined. Not only Rawat, but his wife Renuka has also been issued a voter ID card without any address. Renuka is contesting as the Congress candidate from Haridwar parliamentary constituency.
{{/usCountry}}State joint chief election officer Saujanya told HT that the address can be corrected in the voter list and it is only a “trivial” matter since the CM and his wife can cast their vote without a problem.
“There are many persons who are registered in the voters list and have shifted their homes. Such people have the right to vote and their addresses are mentioned in the voting list,” Saujanya defended.