New Delhi: Thirteen of Delhi’s 70 assembly constituencies have witnessed the deletion of over 40% of their registered voters from draft electoral rolls prepared under Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
Tenants and migrant workers shifting houses have emerged as key factors behind this in the 13 seats: Tughlakabad (names of 47.8% voters deleted), Okhla (45.2%), RK Puram (44.4%), Kasturba Nagar (43.9%), Kalkaji (42.7%), Badarpur (42.5%), New Delhi at (41.6%), Jangpura (41.4%), Mehrauli (41%), Patel Nagar (40.7%), Sangam Vihar (40.7%), Karol Bagh (40.4%) and Patparganj (40%). He said the names of 10% to 15% of those excluded from the rolls are likely to be restored. Many govt employees who had been transferred are not on the rolls, he said, adding that around 15,000 voters could be added after the claims and objections phases. Shakur Basti MLA Karnail Singh of BJP, whose constituency saw just the names of 18.7% voters deleted, said a comparatively lower number of migrant workers and unauthorised colonies was behind the higher rate of retention of electors. Election Commission has provided a window from Aug 31 to Sept 30 for voters whose names have been left out to file claims and objections.
The governing BJP said “every eligible voter” has been included on the draft rolls, while opposition AAP claimed booth-level officers (BLOs) in many places did not visit all voters and that the “entire SIR was a process of exclusion to strip the electors of their rights”. Burari MLA Sanjeev Jha of AAP said his party had pointed out that BLOs had not reached several areas properly. “Election Commission’s responsibility was to ensure that no citizen was deprived of their vote, but this entire process was meant to take away their right to vote,” said Jha, demanding that those missing from the rolls be immediately provided complete information on how to take remedial action. Sangam Vihar MLA Chandan Chaudhary of BJP said migration was a key reason for the high rate of deletion, with many people from Bihar not submitting enumeration forms in Delhi. Several residents also shifted to Noida and Gurgaon, he said, while also alleging that some of the voters did not receive the forms. RK Puram’s BJP MLA Anil Sharma said the rate of deletion was higher in upscale colonies than slum clusters. “We also created adequate awareness about SIR,” he said. The Delhi CEO’s office said all deletions had been carried out following a prescribed process.