10M Voters to Be Deleted in Maharashtra

The Election Commission of India has scheduled a Special Intensive Revision of Maharashtra’s electoral rolls from June 30, with officials saying the exercise could delete about 9 million to 10 million names from the state’s voter list. Maharashtra has about 98.64 million to 98.86 million registered voters, according to reports published this week and Election Commission-linked briefings. The revision will send Booth Level Officers door to door to verify electors and identify duplicate, shifted and deceased voters. Political parties have been asked to appoint Booth Level Agents to participate in the process. ### Why are officials talking about deleting as many as 10 million names? Hindustan Times reported on May 16 that Election Commission officials expect 8% to 12% of Maharashtra’s voters to be struck off after the revision, which would amount to roughly 10 million names. The report said the estimate came from the state’s pre-revision mapping exercise, which is comparing current rolls with the electoral rolls last prepared during an intensive revision in 2002. (hindustantimes.com) The pre-SIR process has mapped about 70% of current voters statewide, Hindustan Times reported, while urban districts have lagged. Mumbai Suburban was reported at 47% mapping and Mumbai city at 55%, with officials attributing the gap to migration and frequent changes of address in the Mumbai metropolitan region. (hindustantimes.com) ### How is the Election Commission checking the rolls? The Election Commission said Maharashtra is part of the third phase of a nationwide Special Intensive Revision covering 16 states and three union territories. In Maharashtra, Booth Level Officers will verify the details of roughly 9.86 crore voters through house visits, while Booth Level Agents named by political parties are meant to assist the process. (hindustantimes.com) The Economic Times, citing officials on May 14, reported that training and preparatory work for Maharashtra’s Booth Level Officers will run from June 20 to June 29. House-to-house verification is scheduled from June 30 to July 29, the draft electoral roll is due on August 5, claims and objections can be filed from August 5 to September 4, and the final roll is scheduled for publication on October 7. (economictimes.indiatimes.com) ### Why are cities like Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai expected to see bigger cuts? Mumbai Suburban, Thane and Navi Mumbai are expected to see the heaviest deletions because of migration and what officials described as a floating population. Hindustan Times said Mumbai has about 10.4 million registered voters, Pune 9.14 million and Thane 7.5 million, making the urban districts the largest concentrations of electors under review. (economictimes.indiatimes.com) Officials told Hindustan Times that duplicate registrations are especially common in urbanizing areas and in parts of Konkan and western Maharashtra, where some voters register both in their native place and at their place of work. The same report said deceased voters also remain on the rolls because relatives often do not seek deletion of those names. (hindustantimes.com) ### What does the 2002 roll have to do with this? The Indian Express reported in April that the pre-SIR mapping in Pune involves checking the current voter list against the roll prepared in 2002, the last time Maharashtra underwent this kind of intensive revision. The report said current voters whose names are not on the 2002 list can still be retained, but younger voters may need to show that a parent’s name appeared on that earlier roll. (hindustantimes.com) The same report said the exercise had already become politically contentious in other states and that petitions related to similar revisions were being heard in the Supreme Court. Congress leaders in Maharashtra told the newspaper the process should not be rushed, while election officials had earlier sought more time for the exercise. (indianexpress.com) ### What happens next for voters and parties in Maharashtra? June 20 is the next dated milestone in Maharashtra’s revision calendar, when training and preparatory work for Booth Level Officers is scheduled to begin. The draft roll is due on August 5, after which voters and political parties can file claims and objections until September 4. The Election Commission’s current schedule sets October 7 for publication of Maharashtra’s final electoral roll. (economictimes.indiatimes.com) (indianexpress.com)