TIE photo.
New Delhi: More than 2.08 crore of Maharashtra’s 9.79 crore registered voters could be left out of the draft electoral roll after enumeration forms remained uncollected during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), which concluded at 5 pm on Monday. The figure, based on the 10 am bulletin issued on the final day, is expected to change as the exercise is completed. Nearly half of the uncollected forms are from Thane, Mumbai and Pune, The Indian Express reported.
Voters whose forms were not collected will not appear in the draft roll scheduled for publication on August 24. However, their exclusion at this stage does not amount to permanent deletion from the electoral roll.
The draft list will remain open to claims and objections until September 23. Eligible voters who find their names missing can seek inclusion or correction during this period, after which election authorities will examine the submissions before publishing the final electoral roll on October 27.
During the SIR exercise, Booth Level Officers visited households carrying pre-filled enumeration forms containing existing voter details. The forms were collected for verification and digitisation. An uncollected form, however, does not establish that a voter is dead, has shifted residence, is a duplicate or is otherwise ineligible.
Several circumstances could explain why forms remained uncollected, including voters being away when officials visited or no longer being traceable at the recorded address. The large number of uncollected forms has therefore emerged as a significant feature of Maharashtra’s electoral roll revision. Still, the final impact on the voter list will only become clear after the claims and objections process concludes.