no election cards

No Voter Cards

Primarily a Muslim Majority area, Kurla West is a reserved seat. Which means that only an SC/ST candidate can contest from here. While speaking to the residents of Kurla west we realized that not receiving their voter cards is a big issue in this area. Iqbaal, a middle-aged local resident, complained of not receiving his voter card for the last couple of years. The problem occurred after he changed his residence. Even after filling up the form and registering for an address change, the card was not issued. On the other hand, a chai seller Anil Singh with his shop at the side of the road said he was an ardent voter and had received his voter’s card. He would be going to Al Barkaat school in Kurla West for the polls.

Ali Hussain, a sweet seller, migrated with his family from Lucknow at the age of 12. He lives in Kurla with his family now. They are avid voters. However, Hussain could not get an Adhaar Card for his current residence, so he doesn’t vote in Mumbai. He travels to Lucknow during national elections. When we asked him about his level of satisfaction with the current political representative.He said, “I have no complaints. The government is doing their job, and we are doing ours. Sometimes, my dukaan gets taken away by the BMC, and I have to pay Rs.1200 to get it back. That’s what the government has done for me!” He added, with a laugh.

Imraan Sheikh, a supporter of Adv. Ratnakar Daware from the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen Party.., said, “There are people who have moved from here ages ago, but their names still appear on the voters’ list. At the same time the people who reside here, do not find their names on the list. An entire area such as Masrani in Kurla has not received voter cards

Written by Journalism students Krystelle Dsouza & Shruti Vanjare

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