Mumbai: Nearly 1.81 crore voters in Maharashtra are yet to complete the enumeration process under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, even as digitisation of forms submitted by 77.77 per cent of the state’s electorate has been completed, Chief Electoral Officer S. Chockalingam said on Wednesday.
Addressing a press conference at Mantralaya, Chockalingam said 7,60,98,153 voters had so far submitted signed enumeration forms, which have been successfully digitised. However, forms relating to 1,80,60,697 voters, or 18.46 per cent of the total electorate, are yet to be collected.
August 17 Final Deadline For Form Submission
The Election Commission has set August 17 as the final deadline for voters to submit their enumeration forms. The category of voters whose forms have not been collected includes those who are absent, have migrated, are deceased or have duplicate entries, officials said.
According to the electoral data as of June 18, Maharashtra has 9,78,54,049 registered voters.
The problem is more pronounced in urban areas, particularly in Thane, Nagpur, Mumbai, Pune, Palghar and Raigad districts, Chockalingam said.
Urban Districts Record Higher Pending Cases
In Mumbai Suburban district, 78,30,011 voters have submitted their SIR forms, accounting for 63.65 per cent of the electorate. In Mumbai City, 25,55,499 voters have submitted their forms, representing 61.51 per cent of registered voters.
Considering Mumbai City and Mumbai Suburban districts together, around 63 per cent of enumeration forms have been digitised, while nearly 30 per cent have been classified as uncollectable and about seven per cent remain under process.
Draft Roll On August 24, Final Roll On October 27
The revised SIR schedule provides for publication of the draft electoral roll on August 24. Voters will then have one month, until September 23, to file claims and objections. The final electoral roll will be published on October 27.
After publication of the draft roll, voters can use Form 6 to seek inclusion of their names, Form 7 for deletion and Form 8 for corrections in details such as address, mobile number and photograph. Newly eligible voters who have attained the age of 18, as well as eligible citizens whose names are missing from the electoral roll, will also be able to apply.
Chockalingam said voters should not delay submission of enumeration forms merely because they do not currently possess documents or their details have not been mapped with the 2002 electoral roll. Necessary documents can be submitted later during the scrutiny process.
The Election Commission has also warned that registering as a voter at more than one place is prohibited under the Representation of the People Act. Furnishing false declarations during the revision or registration process can attract imprisonment of up to one year, a fine, or both.
Officials have instructed Booth Level Officers to verify “uncollectable” cases along with Booth Level Agents of political parties. Voters who refuse to accept or sign the enumeration form during such verification visits will not have their names included in the draft electoral roll, Chockalingam said.
District-wise and constituency-wise lists of uncollectable cases are being published on official district websites. Citizens and political parties have been urged to check the lists and immediately report any wrongly excluded eligible voter.
Chockalingam appealed to citizens to complete the enumeration process by August 17, stressing that the subsequent claims, objections and document-verification process would provide further opportunities to rectify eligible entries.
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