Nearly 67 per cent of the enumeration forms distributed to Delhi’s 1.45 crore electors under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls have been digitised. This milestone was reached on the final day of the enumeration exercise, with data indicating that forms for approximately 97.4 lakh voters have been processed.
Information was available with The Chenab Times that these digitised names are slated to appear in the draft electoral roll, scheduled for publication on August 24. The remaining 47.7 lakh electors have been classified as “uncollectable” under the Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate and Others (ASDDO) categories. Their inclusion in the draft roll is contingent on successfully filing claims or objections during the subsequent phase of the revision process.
Status of ‘Uncollectable’ Voters
The classification of a voter’s form as uncollectable does not automatically result in the permanent forfeiture of their right to vote. A separate list detailing electors in the ASDDO categories is expected to be released, providing them with an opportunity to re-establish their eligibility. The window for submitting claims and objections will be open from August 24 to September 23, with the final electoral roll set to be published on October 27.
The collection rates for enumeration forms showed considerable variation across the different districts of Delhi. Southeast Delhi reported the lowest collection rate, with forms received from approximately 56 per cent of its 15.5 lakh electors. The enumeration exercise itself was extended twice in July following concerns raised by Chief Electoral Officer Ashok Kumar regarding the pace of form collection and processing.
With the enumeration phase concluding on Monday, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) were given a definitive deadline to update records. A senior election official confirmed that the BLO application would become inaccessible after midnight, effectively halting any further modifications to the enumeration data.
Reasons for Exclusion from Draft Roll
Election officials have suggested that a significant portion of voters whose forms were not returned are believed to have relocated from their registered addresses. The substantial migrant population within Delhi has been cited as a contributing factor to the high number of electors falling into the ASDDO categories. While election authorities had anticipated deletions ranging from 20 to 30 per cent, the current figure, though significant, was not entirely unanticipated.
It is important to note that the draft roll is not the conclusive stage of the electoral revision process. Electors who believe their names have been erroneously excluded will have the recourse to file claims and objections during the designated period.
Additional Verification for Certain Voters
Among the voters whose enumeration forms have been successfully received, an estimated 34 per cent, equating to over 33 lakh electors, will be subjected to additional verification. These individuals will be required to present one of the 12 documents stipulated by the Election Commission during the one-month notice period that follows the claims and objections stage.
This group includes approximately 13 lakh electors who could not establish a clear link between themselves or their relatives and the previous SIR electoral roll. An additional 19 lakh-plus voters have been flagged by election authorities due to what are described as “anomalies.” For voters who may lack the prescribed documentation, such as homeless individuals, the Electoral Registration Officer will review their specific circumstances to determine eligibility.
Understanding ‘Anomalies’ in Data
The office of the Chief Electoral Officer has not yet released a detailed public listing of the discrepancies identified in the enumeration data. However, sources indicate that officials have pinpointed several types of logical inconsistencies. These include instances of multiple children being linked to a single parent, unusually small age gaps between parents and children, and discrepancies in names and surname matches between electoral rolls.
An artificial intelligence-assisted system is being employed to detect these inconsistencies. Officials, however, have acknowledged the potential for false positives from the system, emphasizing that every flagged case does not necessarily indicate an error or ineligibility. For example, over 80,000 voters were flagged due to mismatches between their Aadhaar and voter identity card addresses, but these cases are being handled separately and are not included in the general “anomalies” category.
Northeast Delhi Highlights Discrepancies
Northeast Delhi has emerged as a district with a notable number of detected discrepancies. Anomalies have been identified in forms pertaining to more than three lakh voters out of the approximately 13 lakh forms received in the district. This district encompasses the Seemapuri, Rohtas Nagar, Seelampur, Ghonda, Babarpur, Gokalpur, Mustafabad, and Karawal Nagar Assembly constituencies, which collectively represent around 18.70 lakh electors—the largest electoral population among Delhi’s districts.
Northeast Delhi has also recorded nearly 1.4 lakh unmapped electors, marking the second-highest figure among the districts, marginally trailing Southeast Delhi’s approximately 1.43 lakh unmapped voters. The forthcoming stages of the SIR are critical for voters whose names are absent from the draft roll, offering them a final opportunity to submit claims, provide necessary documentation, and seek corrections or inclusion before the final electoral roll is published on October 27.
The Chenab Times News Desk