Congress leader and former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat found himself unable to cast his vote in Dehradun during the municipal body elections on Thursday morning. Despite being a long-time resident of the city and a regular voter from the Niranjanpur neighborhood in previous elections, Mr. Rawat was informed that his name was missing from the voter list.

Having voted from Niranjanpur since 2009, including in the 2022 Assembly elections and the recent federal elections, Mr. Rawat expressed frustration over the situation. “I have been waiting since morning, but my name was not found at the polling station where I voted during the Lok Sabha election,” he told PTI. Taking a jab at the BJP, he added, “I should have been more alert, knowing they are involved in adding and removing names from the list.”

When he complained to the State Election Commission, Mr. Rawat was reportedly told the computer server was malfunctioning, leaving him unable to vote for his preferred candidate.

Elections are underway across Uttarakhand for 11 municipal corporations, 43 municipal councils, and 46 Nagar Panchayats. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, leading the BJP government in the state, encouraged citizens to vote and support BJP candidates. “I appeal to all people of Uttarakhand; you have always stood by the BJP and helped form a double-engine government. You made Narendra Modi the Prime Minister again. I urge you to make BJP candidates win and create a triple-engine government,” he said.

(With inputs from agencies.)