Mumbai: Only 3.9 lakh people have applied to be on the voter list of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the state over the past month even though the draft roll had excluded two crore voters. Of the excluded lot, 1.5 crore were recorded as ‘Absent’ or ‘Shifted’, and it is from these categories that re-applications were expected.The 3.9 lakh voters who applied to be on the SIR voter list include both first-time voters and those re-applying after being excluded from the draft list published on August 31. The period for fresh applications and re-applications ends on October 12.In comparison to the state, the Delhi SIR deleted 47.6 lakh voters’ names from the 1.45 crore voters registered previously, the Karnataka SIR knocked off more than a crore voters, and the West Bengal SIR deleted nearly 91 lakh voters.Chief reasons for a high number of exclusions vary region-wise — in the city, people moving out temporarily because of building redevelopment is considered one of the prominent reasons, while in Bengaluru it may be attributed to a large floating population of technology workers.On the low number of applications for inclusion in the rolls in the state, officials said the reason might be that there are no immediate elections, which might have led to a lowered interest in re-applying. They said that some of the ‘Absent’ and ‘Shifted’ voters might have permanently migrated to other states. The 12-day Ganpati festival possibly added to the delay.Several citizens said they do not know how to re-apply and have not been able to access booth level officers (BLOs) to help them.Officials said literate citizens can submit Form 6 application forms online to the ECI website. They can also attend camps which will be set up at each polling booth the coming weekend. They can also submit their forms to the BLO, a booth level agent of political parties or the electoral registration officer in their district.Also, 2.4 lakh applications have been received for changes in personal details (name, age, gender) on the draft roll (Form 8) and only 5,000 applications for removal from the draft roll (Form 7). The same process is to be followed with these categories.As many as 1.22 crore voters in the draft roll were reported as unmapped or had reported anomalies, including mismatch in name, age, gender. Of these, election officials are in the process of issuing notices to 1.2 crore voters.The chief electoral office has clarified that a personal appearance will not be required to respond to the notices in most cases. A citizen can upload the required documents online to the ECI website. Or hand them over to the BLO when they visit the house. “Citizens can also respond to notices by sending their documents on whatsapp to the BLO,” said chief electoral officer S Chockalingam.If a hearing is still needed under exceptional circumstances, an adult family member can be authorized attend on their behalf. Facilities for online hearings will also be strengthened.
