Pune: Election officials say BLOs will have to rely on door-to-door verification to identify deceased voters, failing which such names could continue to remain on the electoral rolls.The exercise has identified voters requiring verification by matching electoral rolls with other records, officials said and the names of deceased persons cannot be deleted without field verification and documentary proof.In Pune, around 2.5 lakh electors have been flagged after matching the electoral database with death registration records and BLOs are being told to double-check these records. Officials said these entries are indicative and each case has to be verified individually before any deletion is carried out.“A list generated from death records is only the first step. The BLO has to visit the address, verify the death with the family and collect a death certificate or, wherever applicable, an affidavit. Only then can the name be recommended for deletion,” a senior election official said.Officials said if the BLO is unable to locate the address, finds the family has shifted or does not make a house visit, the verification remains incomplete and the elector’s name is likely to continue in the draft electoral roll.There are complaints from several parts of the state that some BLOs have not conducted door-to-door visits. The forms are often collected through family members or booth-level agents. Under the SIR guidelines, an adult member of a household can fill and sign the form on behalf of other family members by mentioning the relationship with the elector. While officials said the provision was introduced to make the exercise easier, activists said it cannot replace physical verification where deceased electors are concerned.A Kondhwa resident recently found that her mother, who had died several years ago, continued to figure on the electoral roll. She approached the Shivajinagar election office with the death certificate, following which the BLO initiated the process for deleting the name. Officials said such cases are rectified when families come forward, but many others may remain undetected.The issue has surfaced before too. Ahead of Lok Sabha election in 2024, political leaders had alleged that deceased voters were still on the electoral rolls showing an inflated voter list.Officials said the ongoing extension is also being used to complete collection of pending forms. In Pune, nearly 2,500 distributed forms are yet to be returned, and officials urged voters to submit them at the earliest so that verification can be completed before the draft rolls are published.Political parties are participating in the SIR through BLAs. Election officials said BLAs are permitted to submit up to 30 completed forms to the BLO in a day, but it cannot be a substitute for field verification where deletion of a deceased elector is involved.Officials said the draft electoral rolls will provide another opportunity to correct such cases. If the name of a deceased voter is in the draft roll, family members or other electors can approach the BLO or the Electoral Registration Officer with the death certificate or other documents during the claims-and-objections period and seek deletion before the final electoral rolls are published.Officials maintained that no name is deleted on oral information. Documentary proof is mandatory. “The verification process starts only when the BLO reaches the household or the family approaches the election machinery. Without that, there is no basis to delete the name,” an official said.Head: Nearing The Finish Line In Pune DistrictVoters I 90.8 lakhDistribution I 81.7 lakh or 90%Digitisation I 57.3 lakh or 63%Uncollectible (Absent, Shifted and Dead voters or addresses not traced ) I 17.7 lakh or 19.5%Share of electorate I 19.5% (nearly one in every five voters)What it meansThe ASD list is not a deletion list. It comprises voters whose status needs field verification.The category includes electors who are absent, have shifted, are reported deceased, or whose registered addresses could not be traced.Officials said names of deceased voters can be deleted only after a BLO visits the address and verifies the death by collecting a death certificate or, where applicable, an affidavit from the familyIf a BLO is unable to trace the address or does not visit the household, the name is likely to continue in the draft electoral roll until an objection is raised during the claims-and-objections periodOur volunteers have assisted several families in getting the names of deceased relatives removed from the electoral rolls. We helped families submit death certificates to the BLOs. Many people assume that once a death is registered, the name will automatically disappear from the voter list. If BLOs do not visit homes and families do not report the death, these names will continue to remain on the rolls, inflating the voter listRohan Desai I A civic rights activist from Koregaon Park
