Juta son of Moja,ABVP son of BJP to revive Rahuls Youth Congress

However,in line with the bloopers the IYC seems to have let pass,many names still remain on the website,including perhaps the mother of it all: Members name Known Unknown,fathers name Cund.

Shown the list of what were obviously fake names on Tuesday,Jitendra Singh had admitted they knew about the same. We came to know about this one and a half months ago,when some people complained to us. We have denied them voting rights.

He also said the IYC had come across thousands of such cases during the membership drive across the country,and had a foolproof scrutiny system to guard against the same. The IYC actually rejected 2.5 lakh applications in Madhya Pradeh,over two lakh in Maharashtra and similarly in other states,Singh said.

Foolproof security or not,it couldnt have been hard. In Ratlam district of Madhya Pradesh,for example,a member gave his name as Rahul,with fathers name Rajivganedi. There are other gems from the same district: Members name ABVP,fathers name BJP; Members name Ram,fathers name Lakhan; and Members name Lal,fathers name Pila.

Singh said the IYC has outsourced data entry,and bundles of 10,000-20,000 applications are sent to the data entry centre,which just registers the names to be put on the YCs website.

If we were not transparent,we would not have put out the names on the website. Our LROs (Lok Sabha Returning Officers) go back (to their assigned areas) and when there are objections,we reject the applications. Besides,at the time of voting,these people have to prove their identity and there again we reject them. Only 1 per cent of the total is rejected due to fake names; others are rejected for not furnishing required (identification) documents, Singh told The Indian Express.

However,the fact that all these fake candidates have barcode numbers seems to contradict this. To get the number,applicants forms with identification documents have to be accepted. Singh incidentally rejected the list with The Indian Express on the grounds that the barcode numbers were wrong.

As per the Membership FAQ on the IYC website,the membership form is submitted to the LRO or the IYC unit along with supporting documents. The barcode is the unique ID number that is assigned to you when you submit your form… During elections the barcode number will be used during voter verification, it states.

Fake membership incidentally has remained Rahuls concern for a long time. He had sent a group of MPs and ex-MPs to Tamil Nadu to check the veracity of members and they had found huge discrepancies,according to IYC sources.

Asked who they suspected could be behind the fake members,IYC office-bearers said that there could be some mischievous elements or even some Opposition members who want to discredit Rahuljis reforms.