Nashik voters cry foul over poll list

Nashik: The ruling Kriyashil Panel lost to the Samarth Panel in the five-yearly election to the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Chitrapat Mahamandal, the apex body of Marathi filmmakers, the results of which were declared on Wednesday afternoon.
The Samarth Panel swept the election by bagging 12 of the 14 seats.
The election was, however, mired by charges of irregularities, raised by the electorate in Nashik, in the voting list.
"While Nashik had 250-odd voters, only 87 of them could exercise their right to voting as the names of the rest were in the ‘disqualified list' citing different reasons," claimed Shyam Londhe, who contested the election from the Shakti Panel. This group had most contestants from Nashik. According to Londhe, many votes were deprived of their right as their membership renewal was pending.
"We were unaware of the renewal process of membership. According to the rules, the board should send reminders through mails and text messages in advance to the members. But we did not receive any such reminder. We travelled to Mumbai on our own but could not cast our ballots," said Jayant Mundhada, voter from Nashik.
Interestingly, producer-director and actor Sachin Pilgaonkar, actress Ashalata Wabgaonkar and many well-known personalities also failed to exercise their votes due to "technical reasons".
The total voters' turnout for the election remained 54% because of the issues with voting list. Nashik has the divisional office of the Mahamandal, but it was not recognised as the official voting centre. The voters from Nashik had to travel Mumbai to exercise their right.
"Because of the irregularities in the voting list, Mumbai recorded the lowest voters turnout with 46%. Only 942 voters of 2,149 could vote in Mumbai. Nashik suffered the most," said Londhe.
According to the official record with election officer, Kolhapur recorded the highest voting percentage of 75, followed by Pune (63) The voting was held on April 24 in Pune, Mumbai and Kolhapur centres. The voters from Nashik had registered their protest against the irregularities in the voting list even during the voting process.
"It was not possible for us to make changes in the list on the spot. So, most voters from Nashik lost the opportunity of voting. This proved disastrous for Nashik's Shakti Panel, which failed to win even a single seat," said Londhe.
Meanwhile, the leader of newly elected Samarth Panel and the would-be president of the apex body of Marathi Film Industry Meghraj Raje Bhonsale said Nashik would be on his priority during his tenure.
"Nashik is emerging as an important hub for the Marathi film industry. We had planned many things for Nashik. I am sure that Nashikites will experience the change in next few months," Raje Bhonsale said.
The winners of his Samarth Panel include some popular names of Marathi film industry such as Varsha Usgaonkar (actress), Madhukar Deshpande (distributor), and Chaitrali Dongre (make-up artiste).