​Do not rush it: on the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls Politics & News

​

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has released the draft electoral roll for seven States and Union Territories after the first phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) was completed with the submission of enumeration forms by eligible voters and their digitisation by Booth Level Officers (BLO). In Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, more than 97 lakh and 58 lakh voters, respectively, were deleted. These deletions range from 7.5% of the pre-SIR rolls in West Bengal to 15% in the case of Tamil Nadu. In West Bengal, the deletions seem to be the highest in urban areas, especially Kolkata. A clear picture on the gender breakup and the reasons for the deletions will emerge only after parsing the ECI’s booth-wise data. Reports also indicate that the ECI has identified a high number of enumeration forms in West Bengal as either unmapped to the 2002 electoral roll or carrying doubtful linkages. The risk of widespread exclusions looms within a compressed 53-day hearing window with Electoral Registration Officers expected to insist on citizenship documentation, including proof of parents’ birth details for those born after 1987. In Bihar, the Supreme Court of India’s salve — allowing electors to use Aadhaar as a viable identity document — helped stave off a high number of deletions, but even then, 68 lakh names were deleted and 24 lakh added as fresh voters or through change/correction requests. The resultant drop in the female gender ratio, from 907 in the pre-SIR rolls to 892 in the final rolls, suggested that all was not well with the SIR in that State.

Seen in this light, the Court’s direction to the ECI to take a “sympathetic view” of representations to extend the enumeration phase by considering the “ground realities” is something that the electoral body should heed. While the ECI has proclaimed that it will ensure no genuine voter is disenfranchised, it relies on tabulating change/correction requests from Booth Level Agents of political parties rather than cross-mapping with government databases such as death registration data. Vulnerable sections such as short-term migrants, illiterate voters and married women risk disenfranchisement under this process, suggesting that the procedure of placing the onus on eligible voters to confirm their presence on the rolls is flawed. Add to this the logistical difficulties faced by States such as Kerala where the SIR coincided with local body elections, combined with the pressure on BLOs to meet tight deadlines, and the case for extending the timeline becomes compelling. Lastly, while the Court has helped ease voter registration during the SIR, it has still not heard the key question of the constitutionality of the whole process. The sooner it decides on it, the easier it would be for electors and the ECI.