20% names in Delhi at risk of deletion as SIR deadline nears

Nearly a fifth of the names on the old electoral roll in Delhi could face deletion as the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) enters its final stretch, officials involved in the exercise said on Monday

Nearly a fifth of the names on the old electoral roll in Delhi could face deletion as the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) enters its final stretch, officials involved in the exercise said on Monday.

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The people cited above, who asked not to be identified, said the deletion rate is expected to be around 20%, as large chunk of Delhi’s population are migrants, who shift residences without updating their addresses or transferring their names to electoral rolls in other states.

“Booth level officers (BLOs) are mandated to visit the residences of electors at least three times. The officers, when not met with a response at an address, slip the forms beneath the closed doors and even paste notices saying that their names could be deleted if they do not submit the forms. But it is seen that neighbours tear away these notices,” an official explained.

As of Monday evening, only about nine million enumeration forms — 62.02% of the 14.5 million electors in Delhi — had been digitised, although forms had been distributed virtually to all electors in the city.

Officials acknowledged that a large volume of forms is yet to be digitised but also maintained that the work is progressing rapidly. “The deadline for enumeration was extended till August 8 [from July 29]. There will be a meeting on Tuesday to decide whether we should request for another extension,” said an official.

Election officials said a sizeable number of electors are likely to be marked for deletion because they are no longer residing at the addresses recorded in the electoral rolls. Many have migrated to other cities or states for work, while others have changed residences within Delhi without updating their voter details.