4.76 million names dropped from Delhi voter rolls, but just 250,000 Form 6 applications filed

Only 250,000 Form 6 applications were received in Delhi between August 31, when the draft roll dropped 4.76 million names, and October 22, with west Delhi accounting for the biggest chunk and New Delhi the smallest, the chief electoral officer (CEO) said on Friday.

The CEO’s office said 250,754 Form 6 applications were received till October 22. To be sure, this number includes both new electors and those deleted by the special intensive revision (SIR).

Another 212,400 Form 6 applications were received before the draft roll came out on August 31.

Out of the 3.3 million people who were flagged – either for not having any link to the 2002 base voter roll or for logical discrepancies – around 2.95 million were resolved, the CEO’s office said. They will be part of the final rolls unless someone files a Form 7 objecting to their inclusion or seeking their removal, in which case they will be vetted.

This period — August 31 to October 22 – also includes roughly a month since the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced special camps across the country to help voters come back into the rolls. The first special camp was held on September 20 in Delhi and since then, authorities have held roughly 89,000 such camps, the CEO’s office said.

Between September 20 and October 22, the number of Form 6 applications received is 158,470.

All applications will be disposed of by November 30 – the last date for disposal of all claims and objections before the final roll is published on December 4, the CEO’s office said.

Form 6 is the statutory application prescribed under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, for a person seeking inclusion of their name in an electoral roll. But ECI has urged people deleted by SIR to also use Form 6 to return to the rolls.

South East district – comprising Okhla, Kalkaji, Tughlakabad – got 24,153 applications.

New Delhi district – comprising New Delhi and Delhi Cantonment – recorded the lowest number of applications at 4,341, followed by Old Delhi district – comprising Ballimaran, Matia Mahal, Sadar Bazar and Chandni Chowk – with 10,668 and Central district – comprising Karol Bagh, Patel Nagar, Moti Nagar and Rajinder Nagar – with 10,796.

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Among other districts, North recorded 18,451 applications, Outer North 17,991, Central North 16,312, South 21,322, South West 22,098, and North East 24,136.

SIR began in Delhi on June 30. At the time, the electoral roll comprised 14.5 million people. The draft roll was released on August 31, removing nearly 4.76 million people – all under the absent, shifted, dead or duplicate (ASDD) categories.

“We have held over 89,000 special camps but still the numbers are low. This indicates that the ASDD list was compiled with due process. Out of the fresh applications too, nearly 50 % are first time voters,” said an official, not willing to be identified.

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At least two district-level officers said that if voters had two ID cards, they preferred to retain the one from their native place.

“We have many government quarters here and when we were finalising the draft rolls for the district, we had to remove the names of nearly 20 % electors since they had shifted to other areas. There were retired officials, who once had a Lutyens’ Delhi address but had moved to Gurugram or even to their native places. We deleted their names and advised them to enrol at the locations where they are currently residing,” said a poll official from New Delhi district.

As part of a separate drive, booth-level officers are visiting localities to ascertain the status of people whose names appeared in the pre-SIR electoral roll but were missing from the current draft roll, and facilitate their enrolment through Form 6 wherever they are found eligible.