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 has been completed.
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. “Form 6 is for new, first-time voters.
The very first sentence says that I have not been a voter before. If the new order is that the deletions were wrong, they can create a special form,” said former CEC SY Quraishi.
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.
