NEW DELHI: Days after notifying the cut-off date for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Delhi, the Election Commission has directed district officials to begin the groundwork for the verification drive, expected to scrutinise millions of voters in the national capital.
In instructions issued to District Election Officers (DEOs) on Tuesday, accessed by this newspaper, the Commission has asked authorities to initiate key pre-revision activities. These include rationalisation of polling stations, identification of new venues, appointment of additional Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and training of officials in updated IT applications. The directive signals the beginning of one of the most extensive voter verification drives in the national capital since 2008.
Most notably, the poll body has instructed that no polling station should cater to more than 1,000 electors, which is a significant tightening of norms compared to Bihar, where the upper limit for electors per station during the ongoing SIR stands at 1,200.
On July 7, this newspaper had exclusively reported the poll body’s plans to implement the controversial SIR in Delhi along the lines of Bihar. The move has since sparked political pushback from the opposition and civil society.
The Delhi unit of the Congress has raised concerns about disenfranchisement of the marginalised, particularly destitutes living in the night shelters, who lack the required documentation to prove citizenship. As part of the SIR, the Delhi Chief Electoral Officer has set March 16, 2008, as the cut-off date—the exact date of the last SIR.
Under this drive, poll officers are empowered to flag individuals as suspected foreign nationals if they fail to furnish the required proof—a clause that has drawn strong comparisons with the National Register of Citizens (NRC) process.
1,000 per polling booth
The poll body has instructed that no polling station should cater to more than 1,000 electors, which is a significant tightening of norms compared to Bihar, where the upper limit for electors per station during the ongoing SIR stands at 1,200.