Maharashtra Congress seeks two-month extension for SIR voter claims and objections

Maharashtra Congress Chief Harshvardhan Sapkal (File pic)

Maharashtra Congress Harshwardhan Sapkal on Tuesday requested State Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), S. Chockalingam, to extend the deadline for submitting claims and objections to the draft electoral roll by two months.

Denouncing the current October 12 deadline set under the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) drive as "grossly inadequate," the members of the Maharashtra Congress warned that millions of citizens risk disenfranchisement due to severe administrative and technical bottlenecks, according to IANS.

In an official letter addressed to CEO Chockalingam, MPCC chief Sapkal highlighted that a Maharashtra Congress delegation had previously met election authorities on September 22 to outline the operational challenges on the ground.

Maharashtra Congress chief labels EC's SIR drive ‘insufficient'

However, the Election Commission (EC) granted an extension of merely 12 days, which Sapkal labeled insufficient, given the massive volume of pending revisions.

Citing figures from the state's electoral database, Sapkal also pointed out that out of 1.54 crore voters flagged on the Absentee, Shifted, and Dead/Duplicate Voters (ASDDO) list, along with 40 lakh youth eligible for new registration, a meager 3,90,000 citizens have managed to submit Form 6 for voter registration.

Sapkal also noted that despite errors in the newly formatted Form 6 being brought to the Election Commission's attention, revised forms have not been printed, leaving citizens unable to access error-free application copies.

Sapkal flags EC's lapses during the registration drive

The MPCC chief further outlined several major lapses disrupting the registration drive across Maharashtra.

Sapkal added, "Frequent server downtime, combined with non-linking of Aadhaar and mobile numbers, has severely paralysed online submissions. Discrepancies between Marathi and English transliterations of voter names are creating further roadblocks."

Sapkal further stated that Booth Level Officers (BLOs), a significant portion of whom are schoolteachers, are currently tied up with conducting mid-term school examinations alongside festive duties during Navratri.

Further pointing out critical flaws in the EC's duplication software, Sapkal revealed that a list containing over 25,000 duplicate voter entries in a single Lok Sabha constituency was recently submitted directly to the Nagpur District Collector.

Congress urges EC to extend the deadline

To ensure a transparent, inclusive, and error-free electoral roll, the state Congress chief urged the Election Commission to immediately extend the deadline for claims and objections by two months beyond October 12.

Urging the CEO to act swiftly in the interest of fair elections, Sapkal further added, "To ensure that voter registration is conducted thoroughly and no eligible citizen is left out, a two-month extension is mandatory."

(With inputs from IANS)