Election Commission Begins Special Drive To Enrol Voters Amid Protests

New Delhi: Amid protests over voter names deleted from the electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), the Election Commission has begun a special enrolment drive across the 20 states and Union Territories where the exercise had been completed.

Voters in states where SIR has been completed will not have to use the additional declaration that was required alongside Form 6 during the SIR exercise. The commission has clarified that the declaration is an additional document used in states and UTs where SIR is being conducted and that the ordinary forms prescribed under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, apply during the non-SIR period.

This means eligible voters seeking inclusion in the 20 states and UTs where SIR is already complete can submit the regular Form 6 without the additional SIR declaration. The declaration requirement is linked to the SIR process, while the special enrolment drive is being carried out through the continuous-updation process.

The commission directed chief electoral officers, district election officers and electoral registration officers to facilitate the inclusion of eligible voters who were left out of the rolls, including those identified in the ASDD category - Absent, Shifted, Dead or Deleted.

Different states have now begun putting the EC's instructions into effect. In Goa, for instance, booth-level officers have been directed to conduct house-to-house visits to voters left out of the rolls and collect their forms. The Election Commission says 81 of 97 voters identified there have already submitted Form 6 applications for inclusion.

In West Bengal, the Chief Electoral Officer's office has published the ASDD list on its website as well as through the websites of the state's district election officers. Eligible voters whose names have been left out can apply afresh through Form 6, either online or through their Booth Level Officer. The West Bengal CEO's office says, "Any eligible voter who finds that his or her name has been left out can submit Form 6 online or approach the Booth Level Officer for inclusion in the electoral roll."

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"Form 6 is for new, first-time voters. The very first sentence says that I have not been a voter before. It is not meant for the restoration of deleted voters. If they want to add these voters, they should create a new form, which can be done by the Law Ministry. If the new order is that the deletions were wrong, they can create a special form," said former CEC SY Quraishi.

"Doing it using Form 6 would be tantamount to being illegal, as there is a declaration that says everything stated above is true. Saying that a voter has not voted when they have would be a violation," he added.

The move comes against the backdrop of the controversy over SIR in West Bengal, where the revision and deletion of names from the electoral rolls have become a major political issue. Opposition parties and other groups have raised concerns over eligible voters being left out, while the Election Commission is providing a fresh route for eligible electors to seek inclusion after the completion of SIR.

The EC's special drive is also unfolding as INDIA bloc parties intensify their protests in the national capital over SIR and the functioning of the Election Commission. Opposition parties are demanding the ouster of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and raising objections to the electoral-roll revision process. The protests are also seeking restoration of voters' names and greater transparency in the preparation and revision of electoral rolls.

The political protests are taking place alongside the EC's administrative exercise to enrol voters who are left out. The Commission has said SIR has been completed in 20 states and UTs, including Bihar and West Bengal, while the final figure of electors will be available only after the final publication of rolls in the remaining 12 states and UTs covered under Phase III.