The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced that most electors whose names are struck off draft electoral rolls during the ongoing process of drafting the final electoral rolls will now be given another chance to be included in the final report.
The Commissions had cautioned the elections commissioners of the above mentioned states that electors could seek for re-inclusion even if they have not filed Form 6. The route of the Form 6 will not be the sole option, but will still be available.
The ruling principally affects the 161 electors that had been priced as Absent, Shifted, Dead or Duplicate (ASDD) – the ones whose enumeration forms were never received and so their names weren’t added to the draft rolls. The total of those taken off in the revision exercise is approximately 130 million, comprising those in these categories.
The ECI has asked the officials for the second time to put voters’ lists of voters on notice boards of the polling stations, to enable them to fill up their eligibility.
Importantly, individuals whose requests have been accepted will keep the same EPIC numbers they had prior to SIR. This is because they will be seen as existing voters who are asking for what they have already missed out, not as new voters.
The policy, which is likely to afford a relief to millions of the all-important voters, will give a chance to eligible citizens to be added to the final electoral rolls for the next seven states.