Goa probe finds no proof of illegal voter transfers in Fatorda | Political Pulse News
A preliminary inquiry ordered by the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Goa, has found no basis in allegations that some voters were “illegally transferred” from Curtorim Assembly constituency to Fatorda seat in South Goa.
As per the inquiry report, voters were added to the Fatorda electoral roll after the processing of Form 6 applications for inclusion – as per the prescribed legal procedures – during the Special Summary Revision (SSR) exercise in the state in 2017. Moreover, says the preliminary inquiry, since 2017, no Form 7 application seeking deletion of any names has been filed by any political party.
On October 16, Fatorda MLA and Goa Forward Party (GFP) chief Vijai Sardesai filed a complaint with the CEO’s office claiming that more than 50 voters from Curtorim were “unlawfully migrated” to the electoral roll of Fatorda, while retaining their original house numbers. Sardesai said: “Those electors were part of Curtorim Assembly segment during the 2012 and 2017 general elections. However, they mysteriously and illegally appeared in the electoral roll of Fatorda Assembly constituency for 2022 and 2026.”
The CEO ordered an inquiry subsequently into Sardesai’s complaint. Its preliminary probe report says it examined the available records regarding the SSR of 2017, and notes that then too, the GFP had submitted a complaint alleging that 53 voters of Curtorim Assembly seat had been moved to Fatorda constituency. The probe report admits that these 53 earlier figured in the electoral roll for Curtorim, but adds: “… during the claims and objections period, 96 persons submitted Form 6 applications seeking inclusion of their names in the electoral roll of Fatorda Assembly constituency. Of these, 31 applications were accepted by the Electoral Registration Officer, Fatorda, while the remaining were rejected. Consequently, the names of 31 whose applications were accepted were deleted from Curtorim… and included in Fatorda… in the supplementary electoral roll.”
The report adds that the records hence “indicate that the inclusion of these 31 electors in Fatorda… was preceded by the submission and processing of Form 6 applications”, and says that copies of these applications are available in the office of the Electoral Registration Officer, Fatorda.
Noting that no application for deletion of any names for the Fatorda electoral roll has been filed by any political party since 2017, the report says this holds true for even the recently concluded Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
In the 2022 Assembly elections in the state, Fatorda had been the only seat won by the GFP, which contested the election in alliance with the Congress. Sardesai won the constituency defeating the BJP’s Damodar ‘Damu’ Naik by a narrow 1,527 votes. However, the GFP is now an ally of the Aam Aadmi Party, announcing a tie-up for the 2027 Assembly polls under the banner ‘Goa First’, and declaring that they were open to all parties except the BJP and Congress.
The Curtorim seat is represented by Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco, an Independent MLA who backs the BJP-led government. In the 2022 polls, Lourenco had won the seat by 5,000-plus votes.
