CHENNAI: The month-long house-to-house enumeration phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, currently underway in Tamil Nadu, is halfway through. While the office of the Chief Electoral Officer has stated that the exercise is going smoothly, barring few minor teething troubles, and that 92% of the 6.47 crore voters have already received their enumeration forms, TNIE reporters across Tamil Nadu find the situation on the ground to be not as rosy.
Many voters, particularly tenants, those who have shifted residences, and women who have moved to their husband’s place after marriage, report not receiving forms at all. Those who have received the forms are struggling to fill them, with many in rural areas unfamiliar with the process and the sections requiring historical data from two decades ago proving difficult. Booth-level officers (BLOs) themselves appear unclear about some procedures or how to deal with certain specific cases. TNIE highlights four broad concerns its reporters heard frequently from the ground.
Responding to the concerns, officials said distribution of forms is going well and problems people faced in filling the forms would be addressed during collection.
Over 6 crore voters in TN received enumeration forms: ECI
The Election Commission of India’s bulletin on the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) on Sunday said more than six crore voters in Tamil Nadu have received their enumeration forms. The enumeration started on November 4, and on Sunday, the exercise completed its 13th day. Since the total number of voters in Tamil Nadu stands at 6.41 crore, only 41 lakh voters are yet to get the enumeration forms, the bulletin said.
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu CEO Archana Patnaik said in a release that the ECI has allowed booth-level agents (BLAs) of recognised political parties to play a more active role in the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls in the state. BLAs can now submit up to 50 verified enumeration forms per day to BLOs.
Stating that the BLOs have been distributing enumeration forms to voters, the CEO said the active participation of the BLAs of the recognised political parties, who are one of the major stakeholders of elections, is also required for the successful completion of this exercise.
She also pointed out that the ECI has permitted the BLAs of recognised political parties to submit upto 50 enumeration forms per day before the publication of the draft electoral rolls. The CEO said the BLAs also should submit a list of application forms with an undertaking that he has personally verified the particulars of the application form and is satisfied that they are correct.
From distribution to filling in forms, BLOs lack clarity
The SIR exercise is mired by lack of clarity, not only among voters but also among the officials involved, especially the booth-level officers (BLOs).
In Rangapuram in Vellore and Tiruvottiyur in Chennai, residents noted they received only one form, although BLOs are required to give two. After filling the forms, electors are supposed to keep one for themselves and hand over the other to the BLOs.
When asked, a BLO in Vellore said they were initially unaware and have started distributing two forms now. A supervisor said some BLOs kept the second form as a backup in case people make mistakes while filling the first. Another supervisor in Chennai explained that if voters made mistakes in both forms, it would be difficult to correct it. On the other hand, if they made an error in one, the voter could keep that form and return the correctly filled one to the BLO.
In Sathuvachari, TNIE observed that electors were asked to fill only the top half of the form and leave out the bottom two sections with previous SIR details. In many other areas, voters were asked to fill all sections.
Many BLOs appeared unsure about whether to distribute forms if a voter has shifted within the same booth or nearby locality. “There is a lot of chaos. We ourselves don’t have clarity. As per norms, a BLO cannot give a form to a voter who has shifted. However, people who come to vote in my booth despite having a new address demand forms,” a BLO from Coimbatore said.
A BLO in Tiruchy said tenants who moved within the same locality usually alert their former house owners to collect forms, and BLOs were generally not refusing to hand them over.
In Vengaivasal in Medavakkam, residents complained that door-to-door visits were not happening, and the BLOs have chosen an easy way out. S Lakshmi said four to five BLOs were distributing forms from a ration shop where people queue up. A BLO said they initially visited houses, only to find many had shifted and many more were locked. “So, we decided to sit at the ration shop and distribute the forms with support from local politicians.”
Voters unable to fetch details of previous SIR
Among those who received their enumeration forms, many are struggling to fill them. The challenges faced by voters can be split into two categories — people, especially those from rural areas, not knowing what to fill in the form, and the inability to fetch details from the previous SIR (2002-2005).
In Tiruvannamalai’s Isukazhi Katteri village, an elderly woman’s video lamenting the lack of support has been circulating on social media. “We don’t understand where to write or paste photos. If any mistake is made, we will be considered dead. The people who distributed the forms should have appointed someone to help. When we ask them, they ask us to get it filled by someone we know,” she said.
Sathish Galley from Sholinganallur said it was a cumbersome task to find his name in the 2005 rolls using his EPIC number, as online records did not show the usual TN-prefixed format. “Instead of the standard TN number, the roll displayed a different number beginning with FYL. I found my name only by searching manually,” he said.
In Kalathimadam in Tenkasi, S Kaniammal, a beedi roller, said: “They have asked for details from the previous SIR. I do not know about that. The BLO asked me to fill and submit the form as soon as possible. However, without help from any party worker or the BLO herself, I cannot fill it.”
In another case, a 68-year-old retired banker who moved to Chennai in 2005 said the form asks for 2002 details when his name was in his hometown in Namakkal. “The link provided to trace the information is also not helpful,” he added, suggesting the ECI should widely publicise a step-by-step video explaining the process.
Overburdened BLOs have to resolve complaints, queries
With booth level officers being the face of SIR to electors, they are at the receiving end of all complaints and queries from voters, besides being overburdened by the sheer magnitude of the exercise.
Several BLOs and supervisors TNIE spoke to said they were overworked with the distribution process. “It takes a long time to find a person’s enumeration form and one has to refer to multiple documents.
At some places, there is only one BLO distributing forms, and we have to answer a flood of questions from the public,” a BLO, who is an anganwadi worker in Vellore, said. She distributed forms in the evening after working at the anganwadi in the morning, noting that she often didn’t have time to eat or access a toilet.
Another BLO said many enumeration forms did not have door numbers. “Some only mention ward numbers or neighbourhood names. Locating the house with that information alone is difficult. We have to check multiple documents, including voter rolls and the BLO mobile application, to find the address.”
One of the BLOs in Chennai said many people requested them to assist with filling the forms, but they simply could not.
Now, electoral registration officers have begun approaching residential welfare associations and activists to involve them in the SIR process, asking them to assist the public who need help filling forms.
Acknowledging complaints from opposition parties that DMK BLAs are accompanying BLOs in many places, a BLO from Tiruchy said, “Whether we wish or not, they come along. Though opposition parties object, they actually help in ensuring that no voter is left out. There’s no scope for misappropriation in the process.”
No forms for those who shifted or at work when officials visit
Despite the Election Commission of India stating that over 92% of people in the electoral rolls have received the enumeration forms, anecdotal evidence from the field suggests that the actual number of electors who have received the forms could be significantly lesser.
In cities like Chennai, where it is not uncommon for those living in rental housing to shift frequently, the problem appears more pronounced.
A tenant from Tondiarpet, requesting anonymity, said she has changed her house twice recently and just a month ago shifted from Kannan Street in Korukkupet to Veera Kutty Street in Tondiarpet. She said she has not received the forms, either at the new or old addresses, even though her family has three voters.
A voter in Nanganallur, who has lived in the same four-storey apartment for 12 years and voted throughout, moved from a ground-floor flat to a second-floor unit in June. A BLO who visited the building refused to issue him an enumeration form, reportedly telling the voter that forms would be issued only to those residing at the exact door number reflected in the existing electoral roll. An official from Urumandampalayam in Coimbatore acknowledged that many people who have recently shifted addresses are pointing out that they are unable to get forms even if they approach the BLOs where they had voted previously.
M Lakshmi from Madurai said that daily wage workers leave early in the morning and return late, so they are not available when officials visit to issue the forms.
(With inputs from Praveena SA, S Guruvanmikanathan, S Kumaresan, T Muruganandham, and Gautham Selvarajan @ Chennai; Dheepthi OJ @ Vellore, D Vincent Arockiaraj @Tiruchy; Aravind Raj @ Coimbatore; MS Thanaraj @ Madurai; Thinakaran Rajamani @ Tenkasi; MS Thanaraj @ Madurai; M Abdul Rabi @ Kanniyakumari)