2.07 crore voter forms uncollected in Maharashtra; 21% electorate deleted

Over 2.07 crore voter enumeration forms are yet to be collected in Maharashtra as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR), according to official data released on Monday. The figures indicate that 21.25% of the state's electorate has been deleted due to these uncollected forms.

Maharashtra has 9,78,54,049 electors. Of these, 7,69,52,262 (78.64%) have been digitised. The remaining 2,07,93,916 (21.25%) were removed from the rolls as the concerned voters did not submit the enumeration forms.

The SIR is a nationwide exercise being conducted by the Election Commission of India to clean electoral rolls of duplicate and stale entries, a problem exacerbated by rapid urbanisation and internal migration. A similar exercise was last carried out in 2002. Maharashtra began the current revision in the third phase, along with 21 other states and union territories.

According to the bulletin on uncollected forms as of August 13, the deletions include 33,94,053 cases of deceased voters, 63,61,113 untraceable voters, 71,95,388 voters who have permanently shifted, and 1,43,556 other cases.

The burden is disproportionately high in urban districts. Out of all uncollected forms, 45.4% are recorded in Thane, Pune, Mumbai, and Mumbai Suburban. Thane has the highest share at 38.77%, followed by Mumbai at 37.57%, Mumbai Suburban at 34.48%, and Pune at 31.92%. This means nearly four in ten voters in Thane did not have their forms collected.

The deletion of voters has drawn criticism from NCP-SP leader Rohit Pawar, who alleged that Booth Level Officers (BLOs) were under pressure to complete verification and conducted surveys from their desks using inputs from BJP workers in Pune, Nashik, and Thane. He also claimed that the BJP developed software to categorise voters based on ideology. These are allegations; the Election Commission and the BJP have not yet responded to the specific charges.

Mr. Pawar said he procures electoral roll data from all 288 assembly constituencies and compares it with the preliminary list prepared by the Election Commission. His remarks underscore concerns about the transparency and accuracy of the deletion process.

Uncollected enumeration forms do not automatically result in deletion. The electoral law requires a prescribed procedure to verify a voter’s status, including attempts to locate the voter. Affected voters may approach the authorities with claims and objections for inclusion before the final publication of the electoral roll. The current exercise, however, has generated significant debate over the scale of deletions and the potential for errors. The electoral roll is the foundation of the democratic process, and its accuracy is essential to ensure that eligible citizens are not disenfranchised.