Jharkhand Chief Electoral Officer K Ravi Kumar said on Saturday that booth-level officers (BLOs) will conduct door-to-door visits to distribute partially filled enumeration forms to voters and collect the signed forms, along with the voters’ current colour photographs, during the enumeration phase (June 30 to July 29) and emphasised that the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls is intended solely for eligible Indian citizens.
Kumar underlined that non-Indian citizens or those who have renounced Indian citizenship must immediately return the enumeration forms to the BLO without filling or signing them. “Submitting an enumeration/declaration form containing incorrect information is a punishable offence under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950,” he added.
On Saturday, Kumar conducted a point-by-point training session via PowerPoint presentation from Nirvachan Sadan for all Divisional Commissioners, outlining the Election Commission of India’s prescribed guidelines and operational procedures for the various phases of the SIR. Kumar noted that under the Citizenship Act of 1955 and its amendments, three key timeframes have been established for determining citizenship based on the date of birth.
“The first period spans from January 26, 1950, to July 1, 1987. During this time, the ‘birthright rule’ applies, meaning every person born in India is considered an Indian citizen. Subsequently, for individuals born in India between July 1, 1987, and December 2, 2004, the ‘One-Parent Rule’ applies, requiring at least one parent to be an Indian citizen. However, the ‘Two-Parent Rule’ applies to those born after December 2, 2004. Under this rule, both parents must be Indian citizens, or one parent must be an Indian citizen while the other—a non-Indian—holds a valid passport and visa for India at the time of the child’s birth and is not an illegal immigrant,” an official said.
The CEO stated that the names of all voters who submit the enumeration form will appear in the draft electoral roll scheduled for publication on August 5. Once the draft is published, voters whose mapping is verified as correct will not be required to submit any further documents.
{{/usCountry}}The CEO stated that the names of all voters who submit the enumeration form will appear in the draft electoral roll scheduled for publication on August 5. Once the draft is published, voters whose mapping is verified as correct will not be required to submit any further documents.
{{/usCountry}}He noted that voters could also have their mapping linked to previous SIR (Systematic Information Record) data at the time of submitting the enumeration form. He further stated that lists of voters falling into categories such as ‘Absent,’ ‘Shifted,’ ‘Deceased,’ ‘Duplicate,’ and ‘Refused to Sign’—verified by the Booth Level Agents (BLA-2) of recognized political parties—would be published alongside the draft electoral roll.
“The Booth Level Officers (BLOs) would provide Form 6 and a declaration form to new voters upon submission of enumeration forms. They would update the filled-in Form 6 online during the notice and verification period. He explained that, in addition to the declaration form, voters would be required to submit one of the 11 documents prescribed by the Election Commission of India,” the CEO said.
Using a presentation (PPT), Kumar provided detailed, point-by-point training to all Divisional Commissioners on various aspects, including the role of BLA-2, the categories of ‘Absent,’ ‘Shifted,’ ‘Deceased,’ ‘Duplicate,’ and ‘Refused to Sign,’ the BLO App, enumeration forms, citizenship criteria, and mapping procedures. He stated that Divisional Commissioners are required to conduct inspections at least three times during the intensive revision of the electoral roll. He directed that, in compliance with the Commission’s guidelines, Commissioners must ensure timely inspections of the electoral roll revision program in the districts within their respective divisions.
On Thursday, the CEO held an important meeting with representatives of all recognized political parties. During the meeting, the CEO addressed various queries and concerns raised by the political parties using a PPT presentation. The CEO underlined that the main objective of this special revision programme is to ensure that no eligible Indian citizen is left out of the electoral roll and that no ineligible person’s name is included.