Delhi Voter List Revision: EC Extends Deadline, Final Roll on October 19

The Election Commission (EC) has extended the deadline for the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in Delhi, pushing back the final publication date to October 19. The extension, announced on Wednesday, gives additional time for door-to-door verification and digitisation of forms, which have lagged behind schedule.

The SIR, which began on June 30, involves house-to-house visits to update voter details. The deadline for these visits has been extended by 10 days, from July 29 to August 8. Consequently, the draft electoral roll will now be published on August 17 instead of August 5. Claims and objections can be filed from August 17 to September 16, with final disposal by October 15, leading to the final roll on October 19.

Delhi election officials emphasised that the extension aims to ensure accuracy and prevent overburdening Booth Level Officers (BLOs). According to data from the Delhi Chief Electoral Officer's office, while distribution of forms has been completed in Old Delhi, New Delhi, and North East districts, and nearly all of Delhi's 1.45 crore electors have received forms, only 14.35% (about 20.8 lakh) forms have been digitised. Digitisation involves BLOs manually mapping electors via an app and uploading scanned copies of forms.

Booth Level Officers are also required to physically verify forms submitted online. Over 2.2 lakh online enumeration forms are still pending verification. Officials said the focus will now shift to collecting filled forms and verifying details to ensure no eligible voter is left out. Every elector must return their filled form, whether mapped or unmapped, to be included in the draft roll. In case of discrepancies, Election Registration Officers (EROs) will issue notices requiring explanations or supporting documents.