ECI gives 1.57 lakh Nagaland electors excluded from the draft electoral roll another chance to seek inclusion.
DIMAPUR — The Election Commission of India (ECI) has given electors left out of Nagaland’s draft electoral roll during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) another opportunity to seek inclusion in the final list, following the exclusion of 1,57,752 entries during the enumeration phase.
In a letter dated November 6, the Commission directed the chief electoral officers of Nagaland and six other states, along with Delhi, to facilitate the submission of fresh Enumeration Forms by electors marked as Absent, Shifted, Dead or Duplicate (ASDD), whose forms were not received and whose names consequently did not figure in the draft roll.
The directive requires booth-wise lists of such electors to be displayed afresh on polling station notice boards, ‘panchayat bhawans’ and urban local body offices. The lists, along with the probable reasons for non-inclusion, must also be uploaded in a readable PDF file on the respective chief electoral officer’s website.
The ECI has instructed district election officers and electoral registration officers to generate partially filled Enumeration Forms afresh through the ECINET platform. Booth level officers (BLOs) have been asked to make all possible efforts to contact the affected electors and deliver the forms either physically or through WhatsApp, email or SMS, wherever contact details are available.
Electors will also be able to download or fill in their forms through the ECI website or ECINET app using the same Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) number they held before their names were excluded.
The Commission has prescribed separate procedures for those who have not shifted residence and those who have moved within the state. Electors who continue to reside at the same address must submit their duly filled and signed Enumeration Forms along with a statement explaining why they could not submit the form earlier.
Those who have shifted within Nagaland need not submit Form 8. Instead, they must provide the Enumeration Form along with a statement indicating their new address and assembly constituency, supported by proof of residence. They may also approach the BLO of the polling station they have moved to.
For homeless electors who do not possess residence documents, the BLO’s field verification report will suffice as proof of residence, the ECI stated.
The Commission has further directed BLOs to coordinate with booth level agents (BLAs) of political parties and make house-to-house visits, besides contacting neighbours, family members and resident welfare associations wherever necessary, to trace the affected electors.
Applications received will be processed by the electoral registration officers (EROs) concerned under Rule 21(1) of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, following verification of eligibility, ordinary residence and other relevant particulars. Names accepted for inclusion will be carried into the final electoral roll, with the elector’s previous EPIC number reassigned.
The ECI has also clarified that electors who have already submitted Form 6 for fresh enrolment during the SIR need not submit the Enumeration Form and statement again.
In Nagaland, the draft electoral roll published on September 20 contained 12,06,457 electors, compared with 13,57,208 before the SIR — a net reduction of 1,50,751.
The 1,57,752 entries not covered by the collection of Enumeration Forms comprised 1,23,749 categorised as absent, permanently shifted or others; 28,944 identified as deceased; and 5,059 as duplicate or multiple enrolments.
The ECI has asked the state election machinery to publicise the fresh opportunity through newspapers, social media, official websites and public announcements, and to establish a monitoring mechanism to ensure that no eligible elector is deprived of the opportunity to seek inclusion while preventing duplicate enrolments. An action-taken report has also been sought from the chief electoral officers.