A third of names could be deleted in Delhi’s draft SIR roll of electors

During the enumeration phase, Booth-level Officers (BLOs) went from door to door, distributing enumeration forms, helping electors fill them in, and then uploading the details on the official portal of the Election Commission of India (ECI).

The capital’s 33% deletion rate at the draft electoral roll stage will be the highest in the country. Of the published draft rolls so far, Telangana, on Wednesday, recorded the highest deletions at 21.59%. Arunachal Pradesh (19.09%) is next, followed by Uttar Pradesh (18.7%).

However, Delhi’s deletions percentage will be similar to that in several other urban centres across the country — a trend that officials have attributed to the large floating populations in India’s bigger cities.

So, in Gurugram, where the enumeration exercise ended last week, 29% of electors were excluded. The percentage of uncollectible forms was 40.99% in Hyderabad district, and 27.76% in Pune district.

The draft electoral roll will be published on August 24. Until then, Booth Level Agents (BLAs) of parties and the residents will have the opportunity to point out mistakes in the list.

The Indian Express reported in July that officials in the office of the CEO of Delhi expected 30-40% of names to be deleted – a consequence of the large numbers of migrant labourers, government employees, and white-collar private sector employees who demonstrate high levels of mobility but who often don’t get their addresses updated.

Around 1-2 lakh electors were likely to be in the “Other” category of electors – those who refuse to sign or submit enumeration forms – officials said.

To be sure, the final number of exclusions from the electoral roll will be known only on October 27, when the final electoral rolls will be published. Electors who may have submitted forms with incomplete details will get notices over the next two months asking for proof of their eligibility to remain on the electoral rolls. Some of them might be added back to the rolls. The ECI has also said that genuine electors who may have been deleted in the draft rolls can be added to the final roll in the one- month claims-and-objection period as fresh electors.

The enumeration phase was originally supposed to last from June 30 to July 29, but the deadline was extended first to August 8 and then to August 17 due to the slow pace of digitization of forms.

After the publication of the draft rolls, claims and objections can be filed through September 23. These claims and objections will be disposed of between August 24 and October 22.