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The Hindu
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
2025 local body polls: State Election Commission receives over 12 lakh applications in 12 days for including names on voters' list
With just three days to go before the deadline ends, the State Election Commission has received more than 12 lakh applications for inclusion of names in the voters' list for the 2025 local body elections in Kerala. Till 3 p.m. Monday, the commission has received 12,41,134 applications in Form 4, the form for including names on the list. The highest number of applications has been filed in Malappuram and Thrissur. The commission has also received 6,196 Form 6 applications for making corrections, 61,390 Form 7 applications for transposition - moving a voter to another ward. As per the latest updates, 77,700 applications have been filed raising objections to inclusion of names. The hearings on the applications, a mammoth task given the large number, are also progressing at the ward level. When publishing the draft electoral rolls on July 23, the commission had set August 7 as the deadline for enrolment applications and filing complaints. However, political parties including the Congress-led United Democratic Front, had demanded an extension of the deadline, citing numerous flaws in the draft. The commission is yet to decide whether to extend the deadline or not. State Election commission A. Shajahan Mr. Shajahan said it will look into the demand on August 6, when a review is planned on the ongoing electoral roll revision. According to him, the huge inflow of enrolment applications was quite normal for pre-election summary revisions, compared to revisions held between two elections. The draft electoral roll published by the commission on July 23 ahead of its revision for the local body elections had 2,66,78,256 voters including 1,40,45,837 women, 1,26,32,186 men, and 233 transgender voters. The commission had announced plans to publish the final list on August 30.
Time of India
7 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
SIR prep: Send list of booth level agents, CEO tells parties
1 2 Kolkata: Bengal chief electoral officer Manoj Agarwal wrote to all political parties on Friday to send him their list of booth level agents (BLAs) so that procedure for the revision of electoral rolls could be started. Without the consent of BLAs, deletion of names from a voters' list is not possible. Bengal's booth count might increase to over 1 lakh ahead of the elections from the present 80,000, and this poses a challenge to parties since BLAs have to be voters of the booths they would represent. There are plans for a training programme for the BLAs to update them about their role in the roll revision process, an EC official said. In April, a training programme was held for BLAs of Bihar in Delhi. "The training is expected to give BLAs an overview of the importance in the election processes. The training would help them fulfil their responsibilities and familiarise them with various aspects of the election process, including the preparation, updating and revision of electoral rolls," the official said. BLAs are appointed by recognised political parties to keep a tab on the field level developments, and they can file their objections with the BLO during roll revision. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 8 speakeasy bars and restaurants in Singapore to check out CNA Undo An official said that while revising the voters' list, BLOs need to get their enquiry report approved by the BLAs. "If the BLAs want to delete any name for absentee voters, they can appeal through Form 7," the EC official said. Bengal had its last SIR in 2002, and BLAs, therefore, haven't had a role to play in a massive exercise like a roll revision in years. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata "When the SIR takes place, if the voters fail to fill up enumeration forms, their names would be deleted from the electoral rolls automatically, and the BLA would have little role to play. If a voter is absent, however, he can apply online or even apply through authorised representatives," the official said. District magistrates, who would be acting as district election officers, have also been asked to submit a list of the BLAs from their respective districts. Following the directives of the EC to restrict each booth to 1,200 voters, the CEO is planning to reorganise the booths, increasing booth count by over 20,000. On Wednesday, the EC asked the CEOs to get ready for the special intensive revision of the electoral rolls, for which the involvement of the BLAs is imperative. The letter from the EC stated, "The entire exercise of SIR will be incomplete without active participation of the political parties, and BLAs, appointed by the political parties, have to play an important role in the SIR activities. Therefore, all the political parties must be informed in writing, and they should be persuaded for the appointment of BLAs immediately so that these BLAs are in the field during SIR and they can bring out any kind of anomaly to notice. "
The Hindu
26-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Opposition up in arms over alleged discrepancies in draft electoral rolls
The Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are up in arms over the alleged discrepancies in the draft electoral rolls for the Kochi Corporation and the larger Ernakulam district published by the State Election Commission. This, they alleged, was a concerted effort in connivance with officials to set the ground in favour of the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)]. The UDF's Ernakulam MLA T.J. Vinod has petitioned the Chief Election Commissioner with copies to the District Collector and the Kochi Corporation secretary. He pointed out that hundreds of voters in many delimited wards had been erroneously included in the neighbouring wards and even in entirely different Assembly constituencies. In one such instance, 600-odd voters from 200-odd households in the Perumanoor division in the Ernakulam Assembly constituency were found included in the Panampilly Nagar division in the Thrikkakara Assembly constituency, Mr. Vinod said. 'The voters concerned are required to submit applications in Form 7 to resolve this mistake. It was practically difficult for 10,000-odd voters in the Ernakulam constituency alone to submit applications and then turn up for hearing in the short period allowed for the purpose. This amounted to violation of a citizen's right to cast vote,' he said. Voters have been given time till August 7 to apply to correct mistakes in the draft electoral rolls. This will be followed by hearings of petitioners, and the final list will be published by August 31. M.G. Aristotle, UDF parliamentary party leader in the Corporation, alleged that in the voter's list for the civic body, prepared based on building numbers, over 500 voters were listed under buildings numbered '0'. He said this undermined the very sanctity of the list and questioned how a building could be assigned the number '0' and how such buildings could be identified. 'There have also been instances where persons who were not members of the households in the relevant building numbers were shown as voters of those buildings. For instance, in my building number where only my mother and I reside, a stranger has been shown as a voter,' he said. P.S. Shaiju, chairperson of the BJP city district committee, alleged that in divisions and wards where the BJP had a good chance of victory, the party's voters had been handpicked and deliberately shifted to the list of other wards and divisions to sabotage the party's prospects. 'This has been done deliberately with the connivance of the officers. We have petitioned the Collector, who is also the District Election Officer, and unless a favourable decision is forthcoming by Monday (July 28, 2025), we will move the court,' he said.
Time of India
24-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
IUML questions ‘irregularities' in LSG draft voter list
1 2 Kozhikode: IUML state general secretary PMA Salam alleged that there were widespread irregularities and numerous errors in the draft voter list for local bodies. He demanded a special system to address them. Votes from outside the respective boundaries of constituencies were extensively included in the list, he said. Salam said that the Election Commission clarified that the voter list was prepared considering the boundaries as per the final notification of ward division. However, this was violated in many places. There were intentional irregularities as well as errors that occurred when the list was rearranged based solely on building numbers, he alleged. The voter list was reorganised according to the house numbers in the existing assessment register, but many old house numbers were included in the list. As a result, such votes were incorrectly shifted to various wards. This error was due to the lack of a precise system to organise voters according to ward boundaries, Salam said. He said applying online through Form 7 to resolve these issues was impractical. Currently, there are about 10 lakh fewer votes in the local body voter list compared to the parliamentary voter list. Fifteen days is insufficient to add so many voters. This could lead to website disruptions. Additionally, the online submission for transferring thousands of voters between wards would completely disrupt the process, he said. Therefore, a system should be in place to directly accept applications to transfer voters outside the ward to their actual ward, considering the boundaries in the final notification. Secretaries should be provided with the facility to examine and accurately organise such applications. He also demanded that the time for adding names to the voter list be extended to one month.
Hindustan Times
24-07-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
1.5K applications raised foreigner tag in last roll revision in Bihar
An ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar, which is set to end on Friday, has kicked up a controversy. The last time the Election Commission of India (ECI) revised the rolls in the eastern state was when it held a Special Summary Revision (SSR) between October 29, 2024, and January 6, 2025. 1.5K applications raised foreigner tag in last roll revision in Bihar During that process, ECI received around 1,500 applications from ordinary voters that tagged a particular individual as a 'foreigner' and were objecting to the name being included in the rolls, officials told HT. 'Few such objections were confirmed as genuine,' the officials added. To be sure, an SSR is different from an SIR. The SSR is an annual, routine update of the electoral roll primarily driven by public claims and objections, with limited verification. In contrast, the SIR is an exceptional, comprehensive verification exercise. It requires compulsory house-to-house physical surveys by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) for every existing elector, using a pre-filled enumeration form for confirmation. Crucially, the SIR imposes strict citizenship validation, requiring documentary proof for eligibility, especially targeting the removal of foreign illegal immigrants and duplicate entries—measures absent in the SSR. The SIR also involves blanket coverage of all voters, whereas the SSR relies on selective public participation. ECI last conducted an SIR in Bihar in 2003. During the SSR, individuals filed objections to a particular name in the rolls through Form 7, an ECI document that allows any elector to request the removal of a name from the voter list. The objections were submitted during the designated claims and objections period in October and November last year. Form 7 requires the objector to provide their full name, address, age, and relationship details (like father's/mother's/spouse's name), along with their own electoral roll details. Crucially, it demands the exact details of the person being objected against: their full name, address (as it appears on the roll), relationship details, age, and most importantly, the specific Part Number and Serial Number of their existing entry in the electoral roll. The form also requires the objector to clearly state the grounds for objection and may require supporting documents or evidence to substantiate the claim. It must be submitted to the relevant Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) for the constituency. Patna reported the highest number of such objections at 215, followed by Bhagalpur (145), Samastipur (140), Siwan (93), Madhubani (89), and Araria (70). Purnia (29), Purvi Champaran (23), and Paschim Champaran (21), showed publicly available data. ECI guidelines require each Form 7 objection to be followed by physical verification and a seven-day notice to the elector in question. But some booth-level officers alleged that they weren't given clear instructions on how to go about the process. 'We weren't told what counts as valid proof or how to handle people who've lived here for decades but don't have formal documents. I can say this with certainty—less than 0.5% of the people in my area would be non-citizens,' said a BLO from Araria district. 'In one case, someone submitted a Form 7 thinking a person had shifted out, but that person was still living there. In another case, the objector's name got deleted by mistake,' the person added. The SSR is conducted annually by ECI to update electoral rolls. BLOs carry out door-to-door verification, record deaths or relocations, and add new voters. After the draft rolls are published, individuals can file objections through Form 6 (addition), Form 7 (deletion), or Form 8 (correction). Form 7 does not require the objector to submit documentary proof of non-citizenship — only a declaration and their identity details. Once the objection is admitted, the burden of proof shifts to the voter whose name is under challenge. 'Additions and deletions take place after due enquiry, in full public view and with participation of political parties at every stage of the process,' the protocol for SSR on ECI website says. A senior ECI official said the SIR is intended to ensure accuracy. 'We're not trying to target non-citizens. We want to be sure the rolls are clean. A deceased person, a migrant, or a foreign national can't provide valid documents or a signature. That's where we'll know who remains,' the official said. Form 7 is present in SIR as well. The official also placed confidence in the upgraded technology being used in SIR and said that the new tech will allow the rolls to be perfect, unlike SSR. 'Rise or no rise, the rolls would be perfect,' the official said.
