In these four eastern and North-Eastern states, a key period has opened up: the enumeration for the Special Intensive Revision is in full swing. Any form that makes it to an official by June 28 will have a say in what the next draft looks like. The Election Commission has set about the task of overhauling and refreshing the lists, one house at a time.
What this phase means for you
The outcome of this drive is what you will see in the draft rolls. If you give a filled-in form to your Booth Level Officer or file it online before the 28th, you’ll be in the running for the next version.
Don’t let a missed deadline be the end of it. Even if you don’t make the cut, you can still put in for a spot as a new voter with Form 6 and the proper declaration when the time for claims and objections comes around.
How we are going about the verification
Booth Level Officers made their first forays from Saturday on, the EC tells us. They are out in the field to hand out, take back and check the enumeration forms.
Any citizen 18 and up on the qualifying date, so long as the law doesn’t bar them, has the right to be on the roll. We want to be inclusive of every eligible person and keep the unqualified ones off.
Numbers in the four states
We are looking at more than 3.67 crore electors across Odisha, Mizoram, Sikkim and Manipur. In Odisha by itself, there are 3.34 crore voters, and 38,123 BLOs and 8,391 agents to handle them.
Then you have the rest: 8.75 lakh in Mizoram, 4.71 lakh in Sikkim and 20.92 lakh in Manipur. The Commission is asking for your help with the teams that will be at your door.
Things to do right now
To make things easier, the Commission is pointing to a few no-brainers:
– Have your documents in order for the BLO
– Get your forms in by June 28th
– Turn to Form 6 in the claims and objections phase if you have to
– File online to save some time
Where this fits in the timeline
This is the third leg of the Special Intensive Revision, which was rolled out in stages on May 14 in 16 states and three UTs. Right now we are focused on these four where the ground-level work has started.
For the administrators, the courts and the political side of things to have something to rely on, the Commission says we need your input to keep the rolls in good order.
EC on the matter of accuracy
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar would put it this way: we are in the process of making ‘one of the most accurate electoral rolls in the entire world’. We are on top of registering everyone who has come of age and weeding out those who don’t belong.
He has no doubt the Special Intensive Revision has held up under the eyes of the highest court in India and done its job in line with the constitution.
It is being done with the oversight of 15 lakh booth-level agents and party presidents from all sides. On the ground, you have 11 lakh officers and AEROs to see it through.
What is in store for the rolls
After we have been through the forms, the Electoral Registration Officers will put together the draft, including everything we get by the 28th. Then it is over to the claims and objections, where you can make any changes you like, Form 6 and all.
It is a way of having our cake and eating it too – getting the inclusion and the check to keep mistakes to a minimum.
Why we are on it
The quality of the roll is what decides who votes and where. It matters for the young, for those who have moved, and for families putting down the names of the departed. A house-to-house pass is the best way to find that out.
Kumar made his point in Dehradun on the 25th of May: we are after the absent, the duplicates, the foreigners. He told electors in that state to have a fresh passport photo ready for the revision.
The short of it
Enumeration has reached your door in Odisha, Mizoram, Sikkim and Manipur. If you are in the clear, just work with the BLOs and you’re set. If your address or situation is different, now is the time to put it right.
Do it by June 28 and you’ll be in the draft. If not, you can always use Form 6 later on to be put in.
