3 weeks ago
Uttarakhand electoral roll revision triggers notices to 19.3 lakh voters
Imagine a special list showing who is allowed to vote in a place called Uttarakhand.
The people in charge of elections looked at this list and found mistakes.
Some names were spelled differently, and some ages looked wrong.
They sent letters to about 19.3 lakh people — lakh means one hundred thousand, so that is a very big number.
The letters asked people to visit special help centres to fix their information.
Some visitors said they got a letter for even a one-letter mistake in a name.
Officials said many people could not fix things because they lost their important papers in floods or fires.
The officials said people can bring other valid records instead.
A group called the Congress said the process has serious problems and is watching it closely.
The hearings will continue until September 3.
Around 19.3 lakh voters in Uttarakhand received notices over discrepancies in names, ages and family details during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Voters at grievance redressal centres, including in Dehradun, reported being served notices for spelling mistakes, incorrect age entries and inconsistencies in family details.
Officials said many people cannot submit the required documents because they lost them in floods, fires or other accidents, and that spelling mismatches were common due to Hindi-English variations and missing surnames.
Additional Chief Electoral Officer Vijay Kumar Jogdande said the draft roll published on July 14 contained 71.33 lakh voters, with hearings being held across all districts from August 1 to September 3.
Uttarakhand Congress president Ganesh Godiyal alleged that some people listed as proposers for deletion of voters' names could not be traced, and the party set up a war room to monitor the process.
- Who
- Voters in Uttarakhand who received notices, election officials led by Additional Chief Electoral Officer Vijay Kumar Jogdande, and the Congress party, whose state president Ganesh Godiyal has alleged irregularities.
- What
- Notices were issued to around 19.3 lakh voters over spelling mistakes in names, incorrect age entries and inconsistencies in family details during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, prompting visits to grievance redressal centres.
- Where
- Uttarakhand, India, including the Raipur grievance redressal centre in Dehradun.
- When
- The draft electoral roll was published on July 14, and hearings are being held from August 1 to September 3.
- Why
- To correct discrepancies in voter records ahead of the finalisation of the electoral roll, though the Congress has alleged irregularities in the process.
Election Officials
Congress Party
Fairness of the verification exercise
Election Officials
The notices are part of a routine verification effort; recipients have the opportunity to attend hearings and submit documents, and other valid records may be considered if the prescribed documents are unavailable.
Congress Party
The process has serious flaws; notices have been issued even for a discrepancy in a single letter of a name, forcing voters to submit additional documents.
Deletion of voters' names
Election Officials
The Election Commission says final decisions will be based on the evidence available at hearings; Additional Chief Electoral Officer Jogdande did not respond when asked about the Congress's allegations.
Congress Party
Congress alleges that people shown as proposers for deletion of voters' names cannot be traced at their registered addresses and says it has reported such instances from several assembly constituencies to the Election Commission.
Key facts
- Process
- Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls
- Voters issued notices
- About 19.3 lakh
- Voters in draft roll
- 71.33 lakh
- Mapping-related notices
- 5.5 lakh
- Notices delivered
- About 77%
- Draft roll published
- July 14
- Hearing period
- August 1 - September 3
Quotes
Bhupendra Singh Bisht
Voter with age discrepancy
“The electoral roll showed only a 15-year age gap between him and his mother. I have repeatedly visited the grievance centre, yet the error has not been corrected.”
theprint.in
“Notices have been issued even for a discrepancy in a single letter of a name. Consequently, additional documents have to be submitted.”
theprint.in
Chief Electoral Officer Vijay Kumar Jogdande
Head of Uttarakhand Election Office
“The draft electoral roll published on July 14 contained 71.33 lakh voters, and notices have been issued to about 19.3 lakh voters over various discrepancies detected during the verification process.”
theprint.in
Sources
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