A unique poll privilege: The place where voters can choose their state just before elections
Kotia appears in news headline whenever it's poll time — but not because it is a critical seat or something. It is because of the unique privilege its voters enjoy — they can vote in two states.
Kotia is located along the Andhra Pradesh and Odisha border. The place is at the centre of a long-running territorial dispute between the two. Electorally, it falls in two Lok Sabha constituencies: Araku in Andhra and Koraput in Odisha.
The area has more than 2,500 voters spread across 21 tribal villages. These voters hold voter IDs, ration cards, and even pension cards of both Odisha and Andhra.
This unique arrangement has been in force since 1968, when Odisha knocked on the Supreme Court's doors to lay claim to these villages. The apex court, however, held that interstate boundary disputes did not fall under its jurisdiction and can only be resolved by Parliament. A permanent injunction was subsequently put in place.
Andhra’s CEO Mukesh Kumar Meena, however, calls this double voting right illegal, a ToI report said on April 10.
“One person can cast only one vote at one location. Enrolment in two states is illegal. One should cancel the registration in one state to enrol in another,” he told the newspaper.
It may be noted that Andhra Pradesh claims the villages fall in its Parvathipuram Manyam district, while Odisha insist they lie in its Koraput district.
Both sides appear to have some form or other of documentary proof to back their claims — including land surveys and records, etc. Both sides also claim to have
