State branch of ECI takes note of pol parties’ grievances, set to correct voter lists

The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) office, which represents the EC in the state, has served show-cause notices to various district authorities for the inconsistencies in the electoral rolls, which include the same voters in multiple constituencies, multiple registration of voters at one address and mistakes in the age of the voters

MUMBAI: A day after opposition parties pointed out anomalies in Maharashtra’s electoral rolls, the state branch of the Election Commission of India (ECI) is set to reply to each objection, besides taking a few corrective measures to weed out these anomalies.

The CEO’s office has also asked the ECI to supply modern technology to weed out duplicate voters.

The office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) has apprised the ECI of the representations made by the Congress, NCP (SP), Shiv Sena (UBT) MNS and other political parties during their meetings with the CEO and the State Election Commissioner. It has reportedly asked the apex election body to conduct a special summary revision (SSR) in the state to enable the addition of first-time voters and also requested a technological upgradation to ensure that duplicate voters are weeded out immediately.

The CEO’s office, which represents the EC in the state, has served show-cause notices to various district authorities for the inconsistencies in the electoral rolls, which include the same voters in multiple constituencies, multiple registration of voters at one address and mistakes in the age of the voters. “As for the examples highlighted by the opposition—of a certain Jayashri Mehta being enrolled in both Charkop and Dahisar and a Mohan Bislava being registered in three different polling booths at Bhandup and Vikhroli—their names from two constituencies were deleted immediately after the assembly elections,” said a Mantralaya official.

The CEO’s office has also urged the EC to conduct an SSR, which is conducted every year but did not take place this year, as the poll body was planning a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Maharashtra. “The SSR is generally held in October-November every year, with additions and deletions of voters based on door-to-door visits,” said another official. “Since the SC set a deadline for the local body elections, the SIR was deferred. It deprived first-time voters from enrolling after October 1, 2024, as that was the cut-off date set before the assembly polls. It is a serious anomaly, and therefore the CEO’s office wrote to the EC in June requesting that an SSR be held.” According to a rough estimate, over 1.7 million first-timers have been deprived because of the SSR delay.

The CEO’s office has also asked the ECI to adapt technology to weed out duplicate voters. “Recently, we started registering voters using new software which shows up their existing data and registration at other constituencies, if any,” said the officer. “But we are not empowered to delete the names. The CEO’s office has now requested an amendment in the law, empowering us to delete the duplicate names.”