HIGHLIGHTS

Priyanka Chopra shifted to Mumbai nearly 17 years ago after winning the Miss World crown in 2000
Chopra’s old neighbours said they were happy to know her name was still on the list, and would be writing to her to come and use her franchise

BAREILLY: Though Bollywood actor Priyanka Chopra shifted to Mumbai nearly 17 years ago after winning the Miss World crown in 2000, her name is still present in the electoral rolls prepared for the civic body elections by the administration. Assistant district election officer Abhijit Mukherji said that they conduct a survey before each election to check for duplication of names of voters who have shifted elsewhere. “It was a mistake on the part of the block-level officer concerned, who prepared the fresh electoral roll for this election. We will take action against those responsible for this error,” he said.

Meanwhile, Chopra’s old neighbours said they were happy to know her name was still on the list, and would be writing to her to come and use her franchise. One Saurabh Saxena is contesting election for councillor’s post in Bareilly Municipal Corporation (BMC) from ward 56, under which Chopra’s house falls. His brother Rajan Saxena said that in order to preparation for his brother’s election they were going through the electoral rolls when spotted Chopra’s name.

“She was our neighbour here before shifting to Mumbai in 2000. Seeing her name in the voters’ list was such a pleasant surprise. Since her family and she shifted to Mumbai, they have frequently visited Bareilly. However, the last time she herself visited was around four years ago,” Rajan said.

“Each voter is important for me. To get support, I am meeting all of them in my ward and am also trying to approach those who are out of town through social media. As Chopra is one of my prospective voters, I will definitely approach her through Twitter and request her to come and cast her vote. It is not only our constitutional right but also a duty to cast our vote,” Saurabh said.
Caretaker of Chopra’s house Rameshwar Rai Pandey told TOI that in October, on the occasion of Dussehra, the actor’s mother Madhu and brother Siddharth had visited Bareilly. Madhu’s name is also on the voters’ list.

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com