3 hrs ago
Election Commission Orders Voter Enrolment Drive After SIR Deletions
India’s Election Commission is checking whether some eligible voters were accidentally removed from voter lists.
It has ordered officials in 20 states and Union Territories to help these people enrol again.
Young people voting for the first time will also be included.
Officials will compare old and new voter lists to find people who may have been wrongly deleted.
They may visit homes and ask people to complete Form 6.
Political parties can help officials identify affected voters.
In Maharashtra, election officers were told to give voters enough time to provide documents before removing their names.
Special camps will be held there in October.
The Commission is also changing its election software to give field officials more flexibility.
The Election Commission has ordered a special enrolment drive in 20 states and Union Territories where the Special Intensive Revision is complete.
The drive will target voters left out of the rolls and young or first-time eligible electors, using the statutory Form 6.
Officials have been told to compare pre-SIR and post-SIR rolls, identify potentially unjustified deletions, and visit affected households.
The directive follows scrutiny over about 13 crore names removed from draft rolls across 30 states and Union Territories.
Maharashtra officials have instructed election officers not to delete names hastily and announced special camps on October 3, 4, 10 and 11.
- Who
- The Election Commission of India, state election officials, affected voters, young and first-time electors, and political parties.
- What
- A special drive has been ordered to re-enrol voters left out of electoral rolls after the Special Intensive Revision.
- Where
- The drive covers 20 states and Union Territories where the Special Intensive Revision has ended; additional safeguards were announced in Maharashtra.
- When
- The written instruction was issued on September 29 and repeated at a video conference on Thursday; Maharashtra camps are scheduled for October 3, 4, 10 and 11.
- Why
- The move follows scrutiny over large-scale deletions from draft rolls and concerns that eligible voters may have been excluded or unable to have deletions reversed.
Election Commission safeguards
Critics and internal dissent
Handling deleted voters
Election Commission safeguards
The Commission says officials should compare pre- and post-revision rolls, visit households, use Form 6 to restore eligible voters, and seek help from political parties.
Critics and internal dissent
Critics and officials have raised concerns that eligible voters were deleted and that the system did not provide an effective way to reverse some deletions, including 97 voters in Goa.
Control of electoral-roll software
Election Commission safeguards
The Commission announced a committee including an independent IIT or IIIT expert to review ECINet and said further flexibility would be added for field officers.
Critics and internal dissent
Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi objected to the centralisation of the electoral-roll database and questioned restrictions on statutory officers’ access.
Deletion procedures in Maharashtra
Election Commission safeguards
Maharashtra officials directed election officers to provide sufficient opportunities, collect documents through Booth Level Officers, hold hearings where needed, and avoid hasty exclusions.
Critics and internal dissent
The large number of Maharashtra records flagged for verification—1.22 crore—has intensified concern about whether the revision could wrongly exclude eligible voters.
Key facts
- Exercise
- Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls
- States and Union Territories covered
- 20 where the revision has been completed
- Draft-roll deletions
- About 13 crore names removed across 30 states and Union Territories
- Re-enrolment form
- Statutory Form 6
- Maharashtra records flagged
- 1.22 crore records for verification
- Maharashtra camps
- October 3, 4, 10 and 11
- Software under review
- ECINet, the system used for electoral rolls
Quotes
Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officer’s office
Office directing Maharashtra officials handling the electoral-roll revision
“In State/UTs where SIR has already been completed, a special drive shall be undertaken by the Chief Electoral Officer, District Election Officers and EROs for the enrolment of left out and young/first time eligible electors under the process of continuous updation.”
indianexpress.com
“an eligible voter should not remain excluded from the electoral roll and there should be no obstruction to the voter’s right to vote”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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