Voter list manipulation in Ludhiana south constituency: Cong

Congress leader Ishwarjot Singh Cheema has raised serious concerns over alleged voter list irregularities in the Ludhiana South Assembly constituency, claiming that votes are being created without valid house numbers and voter details. Cheema, who had contested the 2022 Assembly elections, went live on social media to expose discrepancies in the Election Commission’s published lists, citing booth No. 53 as a key example.

According to Cheema, out of the 839 total votes in booth No. 53, the first 307 entries show ‘house No. 0’ only, with an additional 36 votes also lacking valid house numbers. “This is shocking, especially when the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation has assigned unique house numbers and UID codes to every residence,” he said.

Cheema also pointed out inconsistencies in voter age distribution, noting that the first 100 voters range from 85 to 52 years, the next 100 from 52 to 42 years, and the following 100 from 42 to 21 years — raising questions about data authenticity.

Further anomalies were highlighted in booth No. 55, which has 1,331 registered voters. Cheema claimed that the first 100 entries again show “House No. 0,” while 49 more votes had been listed without proper addresses.

In one instance, voter number 1170 is registered under the name Geeta Devi, but her house number is printed as her name itself. “Many entries appear to be duplicated. This could be either negligence or a deliberate attempt to manipulate the voter base,” Cheema alleged.

He stated that the matter had been brought to the attention of the Congress high command and that further action would be taken based on their directions. “We will scrutinise the entire constituency’s voter lists and present the findings to the public,” he said.

The allegations come in the wake of national-level concerns raised by Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, who recently accused the Election Commission of facilitating voter fraud.