The Lok Sabha elections 2024 is in its fifth phase right now with voting ongoing across 49 parliamentary constituencies spanning six states and two Union Territories (UTs), Mumbai being one of them.

In the past few days, several celebrities have come out to vote in Mumbai to vote but it seems that the process has not been smooth sailing for all of them. A few celebrities have recently spoken out about how they were unable to vote despite going to the polling office.

Gauhar Khan’s video ranting about not being able to vote and her Aadhar card not being accepted has gone viral. But should she have known better?

What Did Gauhar Khan Say?

The clip soon went viral and was reposted on several other social media platforms.

A video of actor Gauhar Khan was seen coming out of the pooling booth in Mumbai, clearly in a huff, and was reported to have said that the situation inside was ‘very confusing’ and ‘badly organised’.

It seems that Khan was unable to vote initially and tried to use her Aadhar Card, however, was denied from doing so. Talking about it further in her Instagram stories she said

“I really have an appeal. Why do we have Aadhar cards if we are not considered citizens enough to vote? Your Aadhar card is your identity that you are an Indian citizen and you should be able to vote with that. But when you go to voting counters with our Aadhar cards and ID proofs, they say you cannot vote because your name is not in the list.

I’m just making a humble appeal that on the basis of your Aadhaar card, you must be allowed to vote as an Indian citizen.” She further added “Why are we being denied our right to vote just because of the survey they’ve done doesn’t have you name? It has names of people who are not even living in the building. Here people are fighting and going berserk because they have their IDs but the survey does not have their names. That is the most basic deprivation of your rights.”

Gauhar eventually could vote since she figured out that her name was in the voting slip for her old address and not her new one.

Read More: In Pics: What Factors One Should Take Into Account Before Voting For Any Political Party

Khan wasn’t the only one who faced difficulty in voting, with another actor Vidya Malvade and musician Amit Trivedi also posting how they were unable to vote.

Vidya Malvade posted an Insta video saying, “This is really upsetting. I have spent the last three hours with my mom and dad at a voting booth trying to vote, but my name is not there. Where I stay is not listed, nobody knows my number, and I haven’t been able to vote. My parents are 70-plus years old.

I took them, and we’ve all been standing there. The staff was kind enough to give my parents chairs to sit in, but I’m so upset. I’ve tried to fill out numerous forms, but the voter ID hasn’t come to my house. I brought my Aadhaar card, thinking I might still be able to vote with it, but it didn’t work. I haven’t been able to vote, and I don’t know what to do. The Bandra constituency doesn’t have my name listed. I was born and brought up here, lived in that house for half my life, and even though I’ve moved to my own place, I’ve always voted from Bandra.

I have no idea what happened. My father’s name was there, my mother’s name was there, but not mine. I’m beyond upset. This isn’t acceptable. I’ve heard there’s been a lot of confusion this year, but it’s my right and duty to vote, and I’m really upset I haven’t been able to. This process started at 10 a.m., and now I’ve come back home without voting”.

 

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A post shared by Amitt Trivedi (@itsamittrivedi)

Trivedi recounted his experience saying “Hi guys, I went to vote today, and as soon as I reached the booth, I showed them this receipt, given to me by the voting officials. I showed him my voter ID and my Aadhaar card; everything was in place. But he said, “1080 is not there, your number is not there. Get it fixed from where you got it from”.

So, I went outside where there was a huge queue. After waiting for half an hour and reaching the front of the line, the guy checked some book, some register, and some paper.

After checking for half an hour, he even checked on his phone, he checked all my details, did everything, and after that, he said, “Sorry, it’s not there, sir, you can’t vote”. So, I asked, “You mean I won’t be able to vote?” He said, “No sir, you won’t be able to vote”. A lot of people were disappointed; people have been disappointed for the last 203 days. A lot of people are going through this, I don’t know. Okay, fine, so I couldn’t vote”.

Valid Or Should Have Known Better?

Khan was trolled quite a bit by people especially calling out her for trying to use her Aadhar Card to vote and not having the correct items that are required to vote.

Some netizens claimed that this was just a baseless rant of a privileged celebrity who was throwing a fuss because the authorities didn’t bend to her whims while others called out her ignorance about the voting process of her country.

One of the things advised to people is to check if their name is in the Electoral Roll and take the necessary measures if it’s not there.

If one is a first-time voter they must ensure that they have filled out the application at the Election Commission India website and registered themselves so their name can be added to the Voter List.

Each and every citizen must check this list, for their state and constituency to make sure their name is there, since without it one will not be able to vote. One can do so by going to the Voters Service Portal, or here.

Aadhar Card, Voter ID and even Voting Slip are going to be meaningless if one’s name is not there in the electoral roll, so it’s important to check your name in the list a few weeks before the election. Once it has been found, one can go to the assigned polling booth with their Voter ID or any other approved documentary proof.

As a citizen, we must make sure to have taken all the steps from our side and even then if it’s not happening that is not our fault.

Image Credits: Google Images

Feature image designed by Saudamini Seth

Sources: TOI, News18, The Print

Find the blogger: @chirali_08

This post is tagged under: Lok Sabha elections 2024, Lok Sabha elections 2024 mumbai, mumbai, Lok Sabha, elections 2024, Lok Sabha elections, Gauhar Khan, Gauhar Khan viral, Gauhar Khan aadhar card, aadhar card, voting, voting india, voting process, voter id, amit trivedi, vidya malvade

Disclaimer: We do not hold any right, or copyright over any of the images used, these have been taken from Google. In case of credits or removal, the owner may kindly mail us.

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