SIR: Special camps on October 15, 16 to help enrol omitted voters in Telangana

The Election Commission of India (ECI) will hold special camps on October 15 and 16 to help voters omitted from the draft electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) apply for inclusion through Form 6. The camps will also cater to first-time and young voters.

Booth Level Officers (BLOs), along with political party agents (Booth Level Agents) will be present at the camps, according to a memo issued by the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO).

The CEO has also directed District Election Officers (DEOs) and Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) to take steps to ensure that eligible voters left out of the rolls are enrolled during the revision exercise.

BLOs have been instructed to identify electors whose names appeared in the pre-SIR rolls but were omitted from the current draft rolls. They must conduct house-to-house visits to verify their status and facilitate enrolment through Form-6 wherever the individuals are found eligible.

Each BLO is expected to cover at least 20-25 such electors a week, with the exercise to be completed within a month. During these visits, they must help omitted voters and first-time electors submit Form-6 applications.

The BLOs will share the lists with BLAs of recognised political parties and the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) concerned, along with the completed application forms and field verification reports. At the end of the exercise, booth-wise lists will also be shared with political party representatives, giving them a further opportunity to help eligible voters missing from the rolls enrol.

The CEO’s instructions also call for special enrolment camps for people living in night shelters and labour colonies, as well as homeless and marginalised persons. DEOs and EROs have been asked to launch extensive public awareness campaigns.

While the ECI’s instructions were intended for States where the SIR process has been completed and final electoral rolls published, the Telangana CEO has issued similar directions while the revision is still under way in the State.

Official sources said the rolls would remain open for updates until November 7, allowing enrolment to continue even though the claims and objections period has ended.

Form-6 enrolment will remain an ongoing process even after the SIR exercise. However, applications pending after November 7 will not be reflected in the final rolls. Such applicants will still be eligible to vote in elections, official sources said.