BMC Halts Verification Of 11 Lakh Suspected Duplicate Voters; Photo-Based Checks Underway

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has temporarily suspended its ward-level door-to-door verification of 11 lakh suspected duplicate voter entries after facing difficulties during field inspections. The civic election office has now shifted to photo-based internal verification to identify confirmed duplicate voters. According to officials, the door-to-door process is expected to resume after December 10.

The verification exercise was launched following a large number of objections to the draft voter list, particularly regarding duplicate entries and voters listed in incorrect wards.

A civic official said the process had to be paused because several entries had identical names but different ages or addresses, while many lacked photographs, making physical verification challenging. "The process had to be paused because many entries shared identical names but had different addresses or ages, and several lacked photographs, making on-site verification difficult," the official noted.

Ashwini Joshi, Additional Municipal Commissioner (City), said the election office is now reviewing photos and data internally while awaiting the resumption of field checks. "Ward-level verification has been paused due to entries with identical names but mismatched details. The election office is now checking photos and data internally, and door-to-door verification will resume after December 10. The Election Commission has also provided missing photos of suspected duplicate voters," she said.

With the final voter list due on December 22, the BMC is working against a tight timeline. In A Ward, 400 suspected duplicate entries were flagged, but only 18 were confirmed as duplicates.

Joshi conducted a review meeting on Wednesday at the BMC headquarters to examine complaints and discrepancies in the draft voter list. She directed officials to ensure that all objections and notifications related to the draft list undergo on-site inspections before final decisions are taken.

Officials refusing election duty will receive notices, while complaints about deceased voters must be supported with applicant-provided evidence and verified against BMC death records. The final list of polling stations must be submitted to the central election branch by December 12.