Mumbai, Nov 7 The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Maharashtra is still underway and voters categorised as “Already Enrolled” have not been permanently excluded from the electoral system, the office of the Chief Electoral Officer said on Saturday.
In a clarification issued amid concerns over large-scale voter exclusions, the CEO’s office said such electors had been excluded only from a particular location as their names appeared elsewhere in the electoral rolls.
It said voters categorised as “Dead” and “Already Enrolled” together accounted for a little over 25 per cent of the exclusions, while around 75 per cent of electors had been removed under the categories of “Absent” or “Shifted”.
It also said comparing the exclusion figures in Mumbai and Thane with the state average was not appropriate, as the latter included areas with both higher and lower exclusions.
Metropolitan regions such as Delhi, Bengaluru and Chennai had also reported higher exclusions due to greater population mobility, which could be within or between states, the poll body reasoned.
It cited the presence of defence establishments and government accommodation in Colaba in south Mumbai, saying regular transfers often resulted in electors moving out of the area.
Urbanised areas generally had greater mobility of voters and consequently higher exclusions, it said.
The CEO’s office also said comparing the exclusion figures with election victory margins was inappropriate, as the latter represented electors who had voted, while the former included those who had moved away and could no longer vote at their previous locations.
Pointing out that the SIR was being undertaken after 24 years, it said cleaning up of electoral rolls had resulted in higher exclusions.
It added that post-SIR voter turnout percentages were generally very high.
“The exercise is still underway and there is a strong possibility of electors registering at their new places of residence. Voters who shift residence need to enrol at their new locations by filling out the relevant form. Some electors categorised as “Shifted” may have already registered at their new addresses,” it said.
The CEO’s office called for a comprehensive analysis of the exclusions, taking into account factors such as urban mobility rather than relying only on community-wise comparisons.
It said details of voters categorised as “Already Enrolled”, including their existing registration locations, were available for verification.
Calling for discussions to ensure every eligible person is included in the electoral rolls, it said the focus should be on whether the action taken was appropriate rather than merely whether it had been carried out.
The clarification came in response to a survey by SABAR Institute on 2.06 cr names deleted from the draft electoral roll in the SIR in Maharashtra. The survey said only 16.8 percent were removed because of death.
(PTI News)
