EC extends deadline for SIR in 5 States, 1 U.T.

EC extends deadline for SIR in 5 States, 1 U.T.

T.N., Gujarat, M.P., Chhattisgarh, U.P., and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands given extension
The grant of extensions contradicts EC’s position that 99% to 100% of forms had been submitted
U.P. was given the longest extension, till Dec 26; the draft rolls will be published on December 31

The Election Commission has extended the schedule of the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in five States and one Union Territory: Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The extension was announced on Thursday, the earlier deadline to submit enumeration forms.

The duration of the extension differs in these States and the U.T., ranging from three days to a fortnight, with all draft electoral rolls set to be published by the end of the year. Another set of States — West Bengal, Goa, Puducherry, Lakshadweep, and Rajasthan — have not been granted any extension, while the schedule in Kerala was extended earlier.

A senior EC official told The Hindu that extensions have been given to all States whose Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) had sought it.

Interestingly, EC data claims that 99% to 100% of enumeration forms have already been submitted and digitised in most of these States.

Changing deadlines

The initial EC order announcing the SIR in 12 States and U.T.s set December 4 as the deadline for voters to submit their enumeration forms.

Last week, the EC extended the enumeration period by a week, to December 11, for all 12 States and U.T.s, with draft electoral rolls to be published on December 16.

On the last day, however, the EC announced a further extension.

The enumeration period for T.N. and Gujarat has now been extended till December 14 and the draft rolls will be published on December 19.

For M.P., Chhattisgarh, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the enumeration deadline has been extended till December 18 and the draft electoral list will be published on December 23.

U.P. has been given the longest extension, till December 26 for the enumeration period, with the draft rolls now set to be published on December 31.

The enumeration period for West Bengal, Goa, Puducherry, Lakshadweep, and Rajasthan, however, ended on Thursday as scheduled, and their draft electoral rolls will be published on December 16.

The schedule for Kerala had been revised earlier, with the enumeration deadline pushed to December 18 and the draft voter list to be published on December 23.

Time for BLA scrutiny

According to data shared by the EC, however, 100% of enumeration forms have been digitised in T.N., M.P., Chhattisgarh, Andaman and Nicobar, and Gujarat, while in West Bengal, Rajasthan, U.P. and Kerala, more than 99% have been completed.

A senior ECI official told The Hindu that most CEOs wanted the booth-level agents appointed by political parties go through the draft lists before they are published, so that if there are any issues regarding addition or deletion of names, they are resolved first.

Since CEOs had only begun sharing these lists with BLAs from Wednesday, they had sought some more time for this process.

The poll body added: “To ensure that no eligible elector is left behind, new electors are being encouraged to fill Form 6 and submit it to the Booth Level Officers (BLOs) or fill the form online using the ECINet app or website to get their names included in the final electoral rolls, which will be published in February next year.”