Maha voter roll revision flags discrepancies in records of 1.22 cr electors

More than 1.22 crore voters in Maharashtra have been asked to submit documentary evidence after discrepancies were detected in their enumeration forms during the Election Commission’s special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral roll.

The statewide exercise uncovered inconsistencies in the records of 1,22,24,000 people whose names appear on the draft electoral roll. Election officials have begun issuing formal notices, with their voter status to be confirmed after the additional documents are verified.

Maharashtra had 9,78,54,049 registered voters before the revision began. Following field-level scrutiny of enumeration forms, the draft roll published on 31 August retained 7,71,65,562 electors, or 78.86 per cent of the previous total.

The draft list includes 3,95,89,905 men, 3,75,72,570 women and 3,087 transgender voters.

Nearly 2,06,88,487 names, accounting for 21.14 per cent of the earlier electoral roll, were left out of the draft. The exclusions included around 34 lakh deceased voters and 17 lakh duplicate entries found across different constituencies.

Among the electors retained, inconsistencies in relatives’ information were identified in 62,48,281 cases, while relatives could not be mapped for another 59,75,626 voters.

More than one lakh discrepancies were reported in each of several constituencies, including Malad, Dharavi, Panvel, Ovala-Majiwada, Kalyan Rural, Khadakwasla, Chinchwad, Hadapsar, Solapur South, Nagpur East, Nagpur West, Nagpur North, Hingna and Badnera.

Meanwhile, state chief electoral officer S. Chockalingam has issued instructions aimed at preventing the objections process from being used to seek the arbitrary deletion of voters, particularly members of specific communities.

The directions followed concerns raised by political parties and reports of organised applications being filed in Jharkhand to remove particular names. The Mumbai municipal commissioner and district collectors across Maharashtra have been told to scrutinise all claims and objections carefully.

Under the revised safeguards, an objection seeking the removal of a voter through Form 7 will be accepted only when it is filed by a registered elector from the same assembly constituency. The applicant will also be required to provide credible evidence showing why the challenged voter is ineligible.

Before any name is removed, the voter concerned must receive an opportunity to attend a hearing and produce evidence supporting their eligibility, sources said. Electors included in the draft roll have already undergone basic verification of their residence and are regarded as eligible unless evidence establishes otherwise.

With IANS inputs