After SIR row, EC orders drive to find 'left-out' electors, re-enrol them
After SIR row, EC orders drive to find 'left-out' electors, re-enrol them
M.U.H
02/10/202616
The Election Commission has directed state poll officials to launch a special drive to immediately include “left-out” and new voters in areas where the electoral roll revision has been completed.
The move is aimed at re-enrolling eligible voters who were omitted or deleted during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), while also registering first-time and “young voters”.
The decision comes amid accusations that the SIR exercise disenfranchised crores of eligible citizens. Data shared by the poll authority and its state officials showed that the combined voters’ list of nine states and three Union territories was pruned by 10.2 per cent after the exercise, including the removal of over 60 lakh dead voters.
The move also comes amid reports of differences within the Commission over SIR decisions, though the EC said all such decisions were taken unanimously.
The instructions were conveyed in an official communication issued on Thursday following a virtual meeting with chief electoral officers of states.
The Commission said voter registration is an ongoing process and stressed that no eligible citizen should be disenfranchised for not being included during the SIR enumeration.
Booth Level Officers have been directed to cross-check current electoral rolls with pre-SIR lists to identify electors whose names were present earlier but were dropped from the final roll. They will then conduct house-to-house verification of all identified individuals.
Each Booth Level Officer has been given a target of covering 20 to 25 electors every week, with the exercise to be completed within one month. They will also collect Form 6 applications on the spot from newly eligible young electors and genuine left-out voters.
The lists will be shared directly with Booth Level Agents of recognised political parties to ensure transparency.
Opposition parties have accused the Election Commission of working in tandem with the BJP and disenfranchising eligible citizens through the SIR exercise.
The Commission, however, has responded with the fresh drive to identify missing eligible voters, register new voters and complete field verification within a month.
