In a major relief to voters, the Election Commission has clarified that no voter’s name will be removed from the electoral roll in cases of partial errors, such as discrepancies in name, surname, parents’ names or age, during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list in Madhya Pradesh.
Names Will Not Be Deleted Over Partial Errors in Name or Age
The clarification comes amid concerns after notices were issued to more than one crore voters in the second phase of the SIR for discrepancies detected in their electoral details. Officials said voters had expressed apprehension that failure to rectify these errors in time could lead to deletion of their names from the rolls.
DON'T MISS
Notices Issued to Over One Crore Voters
According to the Election Commission, such fears are unfounded. Clear instructions have been issued that voters with partial or technical errors must not be removed from the electoral list. Instead, their details will be corrected after verification.
As part of the process, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will conduct door-to-door verification. If the BLO is satisfied after examining the documents and information provided by the voter, a detailed report will be submitted, following which necessary corrections will be made. The correction process is scheduled to be completed by February 14, while the final publication of the voter list will take place on February 21.
Officials said the notices were generated by software that flagged inconsistencies in voter records, including incomplete enumeration forms and mismatches in personal details. Voters were asked to submit supporting documents to facilitate correction.
Notably, after a gap of 22 years, Madhya Pradesh witnessed a comprehensive SIR exercise, during which a draft electoral roll was published after removing over 42 lakh names. The draft list currently includes 5,31,31,983 voters. Out of these, 1,01,33,741 voters received notices due to incomplete or erroneous details.
The Election Commission said the objective of the SIR exercise is to ensure an accurate and error-free voter list, while safeguarding the voting rights of eligible citizens. Officials have urged voters to cooperate with BLOs and complete the verification process within the stipulated timeline.
