Delhi polls: Over 485k new applications in 1 month for voting

The office of Delhi CEO said it also received 82,450 application for deletion of voters in the one-month period between November 29 and December 30.

The chief electoral officer’s (CEO’s) office on Monday said the poll body has received 485,624 applications for registration of new voters (Form 6) and 82,450 applications for deletion of voters (Form 7), either due to relocation or deaths, over the past month. The move comes amid the ongoing political row over alleged skewed additions and deletions of voters from rolls.

A tableau of the Election Commission of India for Republic Day parade over the past decade. (Representative photo/HT Archive)

Further, the office of Delhi CEO R Alice Vaz, said 171,385 applications for modifications (Form 8) were received in the one-month period between November 29 and December 30.

Exercising your franchise

“Citizens who have not yet registered as voters can still apply for enrolment using Form 6, which requires submission of supporting documents for verification by the respective Booth Level Officer. For modifications or deletions in the electoral roll, Form 8 and Form 7 can be filed,” the CEO’s office said in a statement.

The final publication of the electoral roll is scheduled for January 6, 2025, before the state goes to assembly elections, which is likely in February.

According to the Election Commission of India’s (ECI’s) guidelines, no correction of entries or deletion of names will be done after the 10th day of the announcement of the election programme. “The forms for corrections and deletion of voters received 10 days after the announcement of elections will be taken up only after the election concludes,” the CEO’s office said.

The addition of names, however, is carried out till the last date of filing nominations.

“Voters must ensure their names are correctly reflected in the electoral roll, as mere possession of a voter ID card does not guarantee the right to vote,” the CEO’s office said.

Applications for electoral services can be submitted online at https://voters.eci.gov.in or via the Voter Helpline app. People can verify their names in the electoral roll by visiting https://electoralsearch.eci.gov.in or using the Voter Helpline app. For any assistance, public can contact the toll-free helpline 1950.

Over the past month, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has repeatedly alleged unwarranted changes to electoral rolls “by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)” in multiple assembly constituencies. Hitting back at the AAP, the Delhi BJP has been alleging that AAP has been trying to register “illegal voters” in Delhi and create confusion by making allegations against the BJP. Both the AAP and the BJP have submitted or are in the process of submitting petitions to ECI.

To be sure, according to Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, if any person makes, in connection with the preparation, revision or correction of an electoral roll or the inclusion or exclusion of any entry in or from an electoral roll, a statement or declaration in writing, which is false and which he/she either knows or believes to be false or does not believe to be true, he/she shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both. The offence is a non-cognisable, bailable offence, triable by any magistrate.

Groundwork

Revision of electoral rolls is a continuous annual exercise with the addition and deletion of voters going on around the year. Poll officials in Delhi are conducting the special summary revision of electoral rolls with a qualifying date of January 1, 2025, to ensure that electoral rolls remain updated and inclusive for all eligible voters. For conducting elections, the poll panel uses the last available updated rolls till the notification of the election. The ECI conducts special summary revision to enrol eligible citizens and first-time voters annually, in October or November. The special summary revision also allows for corrections to voters’ particulars and invites objections against any wrong inclusion in the electoral roll.

In the pre-revision period, house-to-house verification was carried out from August 20 to October 18 by poll officials. The draft electoral roll was published on October 29, after which the poll authorities invited claims and objections. Around 225,000 claims and objections were received till November 28 and all claims and objections were disposed of by December 24, officials said.

The CEO’s office said that having multiple entries in the electoral roll or multiple voter ID cards is a punishable offence under sections 17 and 18 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950. Recently, FIRs were filed against eight individuals for submitting false documents for voter registration in the Okhla Assembly constituency in Delhi.

During the summary revision, the CEO’s office held five meetings with representatives of political parties, and meetings were held on September 4, October 9, October 29, December 10 and December 21.

“Political parties were requested to assist electoral authorities in increasing the enrolment of young electors in the age group of 18-19 years. Also, in case political parties are having any objections to any addition/deletions/modifications carried out during the special summary revision period and during the continuous updates, they can file their objections with poll panel officials concerned,” an official said, asking not to be named.