New Delhi, Jun 30 (PTI) Enumeration forms of over 7,600 voters were digitised on day one of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Delhi on Tuesday, with Chief Minister Rekha Gupta also filing her form and urging people to participate in the exercise to strengthen democracy.
The month-long door-to-door verification drive began with over 13,000 booth-level officers (BLOs) distributing enumeration forms and collecting the filled-up ones across the 70 Assembly segments in the capital.
A total of 1,68,291 forms were distributed on day one and 7,605 completed forms submitted by the voters were digitised by the BLOs, said a statement of Delhi Chief Electoral Officer’s (CEO) office.
Delhi CEO Ashok Kumar appealed to all eligible voters
to cooperate with the BLOs and accurately fill up the forms and submit it to them. The last date of filling up the SIR forms is July 29.
In a post on X, the Delhi chief minister said that she filled and submitted the enumeration form with details of herself and her family.
“Fill your enumeration form on time and submit it to your BLO. An accurate and up-to-date voter list is the foundation of a strong democracy. Let us fulfil our duty as conscious citizens and ensure our participation in this great ‘yajna’ of democracy,” she said.
Delhi PWD minister Parvesh Sahib Singh also submitted the completed enumeration form from the New Delhi constituency that he represents in the Assembly.
The opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi alleged that the SIR process lacked transparency. The SIR process has been riddled with controversies, with opposition parties launching protests and approaching courts against it. However, the Supreme Court in May upheld the constitutional validity of the SIR process.
On Tuesday, 23 political parties, inluding AAP and Congress, sent a joint letter to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on the SIR process, the role of the Election Commission and other election-related issues.
Meanwhiile, the BLOs in Delhi have been instructed to go door-to-door in the morning and evening hours, including on Saturdays and Sundays, when people are at home, officials said and added the door-to-door drive was largely smooth.
Some voters, however, claimed that there were “hiccups” in filling up the forms.
Nitin, a 26-year-old resident in Mandir Marg area, said he wanted to verify some details before filling it.
“My name is not in the 2002 voter list. I will speak to my father and check the Election Commission Website for the 2002 electoral roll before filling and submitting the form,” he said.
In Ansari Nagar (West), some voters said that there was “confusion” regarding documentation and details to be filled in the forms.
A BLO in the area explained to them that they should fill up the forms carefully, furnishing their details of 2002 SIR as well as their current voter list details.
In an unauthorised settlement in Subhash Mohalla in North East Delhi, a BLO said that there were 15-20 houses carrying the same number because of division of larger plots into smaller ones.
The recognised political parties in Delhi are also taking part in the door-to-door survey through their booth level agents (BLAs) to assist people in filling up and submitting the forms.
The national capital has 13,033 polling stations across seven Lok Sabha and 70 Assembly constituencies.
During the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, the BLOs will provide each voter with two copies of the enumeration form to fill out their details as per the last SIR in 2002.
One form will be kept as an acknowledgement, while the other will be returned to the BLO. No document needs to be submitted along with the enumeration forms.
The form must be filled by each voter so that their names appear in the final electoral roll to be published on October 7.
Names of those who fail to fill up the forms will be removed from the draft roll that will be published on August 5, according to the CEO’s office.
Each BLO will make at least three visits to any house found locked during the door-to-door survey.
Delhi has 1.45 crore voters, including 77.11 lakh male and 67.98 lakh female electors. The electoral rolls were frozen on June 16 and by that date, Delhi had 1,45,10,298 registered voters.
In case any elector has settled in Delhi after 2002, the person will be required to fill the last SIR details of his/her native state where he/she was registered as an elector.
The electoral rolls of all states are available on the Election Commission’s portal.
Voters can also submit their enumeration form details online.
Delhi CEO office has clarified that such voters whose houses were demolished in the anti-encroachment drive and who have shifted elsewhere, or those who fail to submit their forms by July 29 due to any reason, can fill up Form 6 during the claims and objections phase from August 5 to September 4. PTI VIT VBS MSJ VIT RT RT
