Padma Shri awardee Harekala Hajabba among voters served EC notice over name mismatch
Padma Shri awardee Harekala Hajabba received an EC notice over a name mismatch between electoral rolls. Officials later assured his name would stay.
Mangaluru's Harekala Hajabba, the orange seller-turned-educationist and Padma Shri awardee, is among voters who have been served notices by the Election Commission of India over discrepancies in their names between the current electoral roll and the 2002 roll.
The 71-year-old said his name in the 2002 electoral roll was listed simply as 'Hajabba'. It was only after he began receiving awards that his name was formally updated to 'Harekala Hajabba'. This is the name that appears in his Aadhaar card, property records, ration card, Rajyotsava Prashasti, and Padma Shri award documents.
On Sunday, a Booth Level Officer, who works as an anganwadi teacher, visited his home in Harekala village and handed him the notice citing a 'self-name mismatch'. He was asked to visit the Gram Panchayat office on Friday between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. with the required documents. Mr. Hajabba said he did not initially realise the notice pertained to the ongoing electoral roll revision, and only understood its significance after receiving calls from the media.
A senior government official visited his house on Monday to verify his documents. Mr. Hajabba said the official took the notice back and assured him that his name would be retained in the final electoral roll.
Mr. Hajabba gained recognition for using his earnings from selling oranges to fund the construction of a government school in his village, Harekala, which falls under the Mangaluru Assembly constituency in Dakshina Kannada. The school now includes a Pre-University College. He was conferred the Padma Shri for his philanthropic work.
He is one of 45 voters in the draft roll for the polling booth at the Aided Shri Ramakrishna School in Harekala who have received notices over discrepancies. While 24 voters, including Mr. Hajabba, were served notices for 'self-name mismatch', others received notices for issues such as 'parents' age difference', 'grandparents' age difference', 'unmapped with last revision', and discrepancies in progeny details.