The Election Commission of India (ECI) has asked all district-level electoral officers to encourage voters to check their names and report discrepancies, if any. Though this is a standard practice during roll revision every year, the instructions have been given repeatedly this year in the light of Opposition parties accusing the ruling BJP of influencing the electoral roll revision for wrongful gains.
No local polls
The added emphasis is also because Karnataka has not had a rural local body elections and urban local body elections in most districts for over a year, which would have otherwise helped voters check if their names are listed in the electoral rolls. ECI will treat the complaints as feedback for the process of roll revision.
“This is an election year and we need to maintain the freshness and purity of electoral rolls. Addition of new names is being taken up at a faster pace than deletion,” said a senior officer with election-related responsibilities.
In colleges
Officers are going around colleges and distributing Form Number 6 (for registration) to help youth enroll as voters. In Dharwad district alone, around 50,000 students have shown interest, said the officer. Additions are being done of those who have just crossed 18 years of age, and a few who are old enough to vote but have not registered themselves till now.
In some districts, Block Level Officers, who are mostly Anganwadi workers or school teachers, are going door to door checking whether all residents have been enrolled as voters and asking them to enroll if not. They are also helping them fill relevant forms.