Ranchi: A delegation of Congress legislative party (CLP), led by Jharkhand affairs in-charge K Raju and Congress legislative party (CLP) leader Pradeep Yadav, on Monday urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to extend the deadline for submission of enumeration forms under the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Jharkhand by 15 days.The delegation submitted a memorandum to the ECI through chief electoral officer (CEO) K Ravi Kumar, claiming widespread practical and logistical difficulties have prevented a large number of eligible voters from completing the process.Citing reports from voters, booth-level agents, public representatives, and field workers, Congress said several genuine electors have been left out due to migration, work commitments, illness, and other constraints, especially in urban and remote areas.Out of Jharkhand’s 2.64 crore voters, parental mapping was completed for 82.08% of electors, leaving around 47.41 lakh voters unmapped. Most of the voters fall in the ‘absent, shifted or dead/duplicate’ (ASDD) persons’ list, the party claimed in the memo.“A total of 1.51 crore enumeration forms were digitised, while around 1.13 crore forms were pending as of July 17. In five assembly constituencies, over 14.39 lakh forms are yet to be digitised,” Congress functionaries said.Arguing that rushing the exercise at the final stage could lead to errors and exclusions, the memorandum stated, “Granting additional time will help ensure that the digitisation process is completed accurately and no eligible voter is deprived of inclusion in the electoral roll owing to procedural difficulties.”The delegation included ministers Radha Krishna Kishore, Deepika Pandey Singh, and Shilpi Neha Tirkey, besides a slew of party MLAs.
