'No eligible voter to be left out': States hold special voter enrolment camps amid anti-SIR, CEC protests

Chief electoral officers (CEOs) of several states and Union territories have said no eligible voter will be left out of the electoral rolls, announcing special enrolment camps at polling stations, schools and colleges as part of a drive ordered by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

Announced via CEOs’ official social media handles on Monday, this comes amid nationwide protests over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and demands for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

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Camp locations and state-level drives

In Rajasthan, 41 district election officers (DEOs) have started a “proactive campaign”, with camps being held at 61,404 booths, the state CEO said. Chhattisgarh’s 33 DEOs have launched a similar drive across 27,196 booths, and camps are also being held in schools and colleges. Kerala said camps are being held at village offices for all 30,471 booths across its 14 districts.

Similar announcements were made by CEOs of other states and UTs including Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Lakshadweep, Tamil Nadu, and Haryana.

In Odisha, camps are being organised at 45,250 polling booths across the state. In Ladakh, electors are being facilitated through 595 polling stations. The Lakshadweep administration said special camps are being held across the Union territory. In Jharkhand, officials inspected special camps at polling stations in Bhojudih, among other places.

Also Read | Delhi SIR: CEO says 20 lakh voter discrepancies resolved, assures ‘no eligible voter will be excluded’

ECI instructions and voter assistance

The drive follows ECI instructions issued on October 1 to enrol eligible electors who were left out. In Chhattisgarh, the campaign began on October 8, with BLOs visiting homes, schools and colleges, and holding camps at booths.

Voters with complaints have been asked to contact booth-level officers (BLOs), assistant electoral registration officers (AEROs), electoral registration officers (EROs) or DEOs. Rajasthan has listed 61,404 BLOs, 854 AEROs, 200 EROs and 41 DEOs for this. Kerala has 30,471 BLOs and 140 each of AEROs and AEROs. Lakshadweep has 64 BLOs, 10 AEROs, one ERO and one DEO.

Also Read | ‘Pause SIR, hold independent audit of voter deletion’: INDIA bloc petition to Supreme Court lists 10 requests

Delhi voter-list entries flagged

Delhi’s CEO said about 3.3 million entries in the capital’s voter list had been flagged under “logical discrepancy” or as un-mapped, and around 2 million of them have been resolved. It listed 14,947 BLOs, 902 AEROs, 70 EROs and 13 DEOs for grievances.