Irfan goes to vote, finds name not there

Khan said he had sought to add Irfan’s name during the door-to-door survey by electoral authorities for revising the voters’ list.

‘‘We were told that his name will be there in the revised list but today when we approached the polling booth, the names of both Irfan and his brother Yusuf were not there,’’ he said.

While Parthiv didn’t go to the polling station at Kalupur where his parents voted as he knew his name wasn’t there in the voters’ list, 19-year-old Irfan accompanied his parents Mehmood Khan and Shamimabanu to Sayaji School in Gadyalipole area of Vadodara to cast his first-ever vote. That’s when he realised that his name was not there in the list.

Irfan refused to comment on the issue. But relatives said he was looking forward to the day as it was his first chance to vote.

Meanwhile, Parthiv’s uncle Jagat Patel said when the family went to get his name on to the list, they were told that the cricketer’s signature was required. Parthiv’s father Ajay Patel said, ‘‘While applying for the voter I-card, Parthiv was not in town and his signature could not be obtained so we could not file papers on his behalf.’’

However, Ahmedabad District Collector Anita Karwal said, ‘‘Parthiv’s name was in the VVIP list and he was eligible to vote.’’

‘‘We were not informed that his name was in the VVIP list, otherwise he would have voted,’’ said Ajay Patel.

Vadodara District Collector Bhagyesh Jha, who is the returning officer, said the revised voters’ list was duly advertised and people were asked to approach the collectorate in case their names were missing. About Irfan’s name not being in the final list, he said, ‘‘I was never approached by anyone in this regard,’’ he said.