E-Paper
No arbitrary addition, deletion in Maha voters list, EC tells Cong
The poll body focussed on two primary concerns raised by the Congress – arbitrary deletion of voters and subsequent additions in the electoral rolls of Maharashtra, and changes in voter turnout data figures on the day of polling between 5pm and 11.30pm.
New Delhi Amid concerns flagged by the Congress, the Election Commission on Tuesday said there were no arbitrary additions or deletions of voters in Maharashtra where assembly polls were held recently.
The poll body focussed on two primary concerns raised by the Congress – arbitrary deletion of voters and subsequent additions in the electoral rolls of Maharashtra, and changes in voter turnout data figures on the day of polling between 5pm and 11.30pm.
After meeting the ECI on December 3, senior Congress leader Manu Abhishek Singhvi had claimed that in 118 constituencies in the state, of which the BJP won 102, each constituency saw voter turnout increase by about 25,000 persons per constituency, compared to the general elections between the general and the state elections. In its November 29 letter to the ECI, the party had claimed that in the 50 assembly constituencies that saw an average increase of 50,000 electors, the BJP won 47 of them.
The ECI claimed that this was a “baseless accusation” that “creates unnecessary and avoidable doubts and anxiety in the mind of the public”.
On discrepancy in voter turnout between 5 pm and 11:30 pm, the ECI said, “At the time of counting, data entered in Form 17C is tallied with data in EVM in presence of the counting agents and therefore allegation of gap between voting percentage data released 5:00 PM on poll day and final polling percentage data is superfluous.”
“Commission trusts that INC should not have any clarification missing after these elaborations. Commission is committed to a respectful collaborative relation with all political parties, so critical for a healthy democracy and welcomes suggestions for any improvement in the electoral process,” the response signed by ECI secretary SK Das said.
It said that there were only six assembly constituencies, not 50 as claimed by Congress, where more than 50,000 electors were added. Copies of the draft rolls, and claim and objections were provided to Congress in all constituencies, the ECI said. “INC representatives indeed participated in revision of electoral rolls at various stages till the finalisation of electoral rolls,” the ECI said.
It said that in the five month-period between the general and state elections, there was an addition of 4,881,610 electors and deletion of 800,391 (average of 2,779 electors per assembly constituency), resulting in a net addition of 4,081,228 electors in the state. This is because, in December 2021 (brought into force in August 2022), the Representation of People Act, 1951, was amended to increase the number of qualifying dates for registration in electoral rolls from only January 1 to April 1, July 1 and October 1.
As July 1 and October 1 fell in the five-month period, people who turned 18 years olf also became eligible to registered for the state elections and were enrolled. Of the 4,081,228 net additions, 872,094 (21.4%) were between the ages of 18 and 19, while 1,774,514 (43.5%) were between the ages of 20-29, accounting for 64.8% net additions.
The ECI said that returning officers and the district election officers, under the supervision of the ECI, prepare the electoral rolls which are revised annually. The final roll is published around January 5 each year and is then continuously updated until October. The draft roll is published until October. After this publication, both the public and political parties can file claims and objections.
In addition, ahead of all state assembly elections, the ECI carries out Special Summary Revision (SSR) of the rolls which involves house to house survey, physical field verification by the booth level officers, random checking by higher-ups, and regular meetings with political parties. Political parties appoint booth level agents to oversee the process.
The ECI said that monthly lists of additions, deletions and modifications to the rolls are published on the website, and the draft and final rolls are available on the CEO/DEO’s websites. Free copies of part-wise draft and final rolls are provided to all recognized political parties while general public can get a copy by paying a “nominal fee”. The ECI said that two copies of the electoral rolls, one hard copy with images of the electors and one soft copy without the images, is made available at ERO level. “These instructions are uniformly followed in the entire country,” the ECI said.
The ECI also said that the list of all claims and objections is shared with recognized political parties on a weekly basis.
Congress had claimed that voters were arbitrarily deleted from the rolls in the five-month period between the general elections and the Maharashtra assembly polls. The party had asked for the raw data and the forms involved.
The ECI outlined the standard operating procedure around deletion from the rolls. It said that deletions due to registered death require proper verification, including submission of a death certificate. For unregistered deaths and change in address, the necessary forms (Form 7 and Form 8, respectively) must be received. For each deletion, the BLO must submit a field verification identity. For all proposed deletions, except registered deaths, the ECI said that a notice is issued and the concerned elector is given “reasonable opportunity” to be heard.
If more than 2% of all electors are proposed to be deleted from one polling station, the electoral registration officer must personally “cross verify” each case of deletion. The ERO must also personally cross verify deletions is the same person objects to the deletion in more than five cases.
On discrepancy in voter turnout, the ECI said, “[T]he Commission has decided to not only inform you once again, but also educate citizens at large about the concept of statutory sharing of VTR with candidates contesting the elections in Form 17C, and the very different concept of non-statutory framework of sharing VTR on VTR APP designed for the general public and underline the difference between the two,” the ECI wrote. During the general elections, the changes in voter turnout had been a major sticking point, resulting in a scathing letter from the ECI to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
The ECI said that “voter turnout” is not a legally defined concept nor is its publication legally required at any level. It reiterated that Form 17C (part I), is the “immutable co-shared record”, with details of the number of votes recorded, that is shared with the polling agents of the candidates at the end of the poll after it is filled out by the presiding officer of the polling station.
The data given in the voter turnout app is a “facilitative measure” by the ECI which is not a statutory requirement. It is collected by sector magistrates every two hours starting at 9 am through various media including phone, in person visits to the booth, messaging group, etc. “It is possible that sector magistrates may not get accurate upgraded trends from some PSs in some cycles of data collection,” the ECI wrote. These trends are not a substitute for the data in Form 17C, it said.
“Considering 5:00 PM data as the final voter turnout or as its closest approximation is merely a misconception,” the ECI said and called it “interim data of approximate voter turnout”. Polling can continue even after 6 pm, the ECI said.
After polling ends, the presiding officer has to perform “multiple statutory, non-statutory and administrative functions”, the poll body said. Form 17C Part I (with data from the EVM about the number of votes registered on the machines, votes polled during mock poll, number of votes cast, etc.), is given to the candidates or their agents at the end of the poll, on the polling day itself, the ECI said.
On the polling day, the returning officer must collect and securely store EVMs in strongrooms. “Updation of the poll turnout data on the VTR APP coming around the same time, is only a next priority,” the ECI said.
“The voting data provided at 11:45 PM on the day of poll can also not be considered as final voter turnout, as it is also not possible to provide the final voter turnout data before scrutiny of Election Papers, which is held on the next day of poll in the presence of the candidates and observers. Also, some polling parties may not have been able to return/submit their documents by that time,”
The ECI said that the scrutiny of Form 17A (list of people who voted at booth level) is done a day after polling. In certain cases, some polling parties return on P+2 or P+3 days day to difficulties in “geography, security concerns and weather conditions”.
