Nagpur: Voting for the Maharashtra and Goa Bar Council elections concluded peacefully on Tuesday, but widespread discrepancies in voter lists cast a shadow over the polling process.According to officials and participating lawyers, multiple voters discovered that their names were either absent from the electoral rolls or shifted to distant districts such as Mumbai and Nanded. Former High Court Bar Association (HCBA) office-bearer Pankaj Tidke found his vote in Mumbai, despite the fact that he is registered on Nagpur lawyers’ list. Despite the confusion, polling recorded an estimated turnout of around 50% in Nagpur district. At the high court polling centre, nearly 700 out of approximately 900 registered voters exercised their franchise. Meanwhile, at seven polling booths on the district court premises, about 3,200 out of nearly 7,000 voters cast their ballots. In total, around 4,100 out of 8,000 urban voters participated, while figures from rural areas were still awaited at the time of reporting.The election holds importance for the legal community across Maharashtra and Goa, with representation shaping regulatory and professional decisions in the sector. A total of 23 members — 18 men and five women — will be elected through this process. Additionally, two women advocates will be inducted as nominated members to the executive council after the election.From Vidarbha, several experienced candidates are in the fray, including Parijat Pande, Asif Qureshi, and Anil Govardipe, all of whom previously served as Bar Council members. Alongside them, a group of first-time candidates — Sagar Lambat, Sanjay More, Sandeep Nandeshwar, Vaishali Khedekar, Priyanka Chokhare, and Uma Bhattad — are contesting, reflecting a mix of experience and new entrants in the electoral battle.Across Maharashtra and Goa, nearly 1.75 lakh voters were registered for the election, including 9,359 from Nagpur district alone. The scale of participation underscores the election’s importance, even as administrative lapses in voter list preparation have drawn criticism.
