Poll word: 4 lakh identity cards may arrive in time

Confirming that the election commission has permitted voters to carry any of the 14 identity proofs for voting purposes,he said those whose photographs were taken in the drive are likely to get their cards in time for voting.

The collector’s office had earlier announced that the cards will be distributed from February 14. The delay in issue of the cards followed the malfunctioning of the software from the agency appointed by the Election Commission. According to the election department,the software was not responding as it had to associate the old serial numbers with new ones of voters whose photographs were available with the department. With the numbers changing owing to delimitation exercise and the software not responding,there was a mismatch between the photograph on the card and the details of the voter.

The Pune list has nearly 60 lakh voters for four constituencies — Pune,Baramati,Maval and Shirur.

With April 23 being declared a public holiday,Dalvi said citizens should vote before heading to any other destination on the day. He urged people to check their names in the voters’ list and carry any of the mentioned identity proofs when they go for polling. “From driving licences,passports,bank passbooks to identity cards issued by the Central or state government that has a photo of the individual — any of these will be treated as valid proof and the holder will be permitted to vote,“he said.