Delhi SIR: Fresh enumeration form distribution to 47.5 lakh excluded voters to begin next week

Distribution of fresh enumeration forms to over 47.5 lakh voters excluded from Delhi’s draft electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision is expected to begin in full swing next week, with the Election Commission making changes to its portal to facilitate the exercise, officials said on Thursday.

Changes are being made to the Election Commission’s digital portal ECINET to enable Booth-Level Officers (BLO) to identify the excluded voters and generate enumeration forms specifically for them, they said.

“Currently, enumeration forms are generated for all 1.45 crore electors in Delhi, requiring BLOs to manually identify and shortlist those excluded from the draft roll before distributing the forms,” an Election Commission official said.

Each polling station has around 1,500 electors, of whom approximately 200-300 fall under the category of absent, shifted, dead and duplicate (ASDD), he explained. The proposed changes will allow BLOs to generate forms specifically for these voters, making the identification and distribution process easier.

“While the exercise has not yet begun on a large scale, some BLOs have already started identifying the excluded voters. The process is expected to be undertaken across polling stations in a full-fledged manner from next week,” another official said.

Around 47.5 lakh names, accounting for nearly 32.8 per cent of the electorate, were excluded from the draft roll published on August 31. The draft roll contained around 97.5 lakh electors, against nearly 1.45 crore at the beginning of the revision.

According to the office of the Delhi Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), the fresh distribution of enumeration forms will give these voters another opportunity to establish eligibility.

At the same time, the number of Form 6 applications seeking fresh enrolment has crossed 5.16 lakh since the beginning of the SIR, with more than 3.04 lakh applications received after the publication of the draft roll, according to official data.

Between August 31 and November 11, the election authorities received 3,04,352 Form 6 applications, used to seek inclusion in the electoral roll.

During the same period, 30,954 Form 7 applications seeking deletion of names and 1,11,516 Form 8 applications for correction of entries or shifting of residence were also received.

The fresh distribution exercise is separate from the verification of nearly 33.1 lakh voters who were issued notices over logical discrepancies or lack of mapping with the 2002 electoral roll. These voters were included in the draft roll but were asked to establish their eligibility by submitting supporting documents.

The Election Commission has extended the deadline for filing claims and objections from October 31 to November 25. The disposal of claims and objections is scheduled to be completed by December 15, while the final electoral roll is slated to be published on December 22.