New Delhi [India], September 8 : The Office of Delhi's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) on Tuesday clarified the procedure followed for inclusion, deletion and modification of names in electoral rolls after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alleged that the name of Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha was included in the electoral roll of AC-39 (Rajinder Nagar) without following due procedure.
The CEO said names are added, deleted or modified in the electoral roll only based on Forms 6, 7 and 8, respectively. These applications are processed by Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) in accordance with the Representation of the People Act, 1950, the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, and instructions issued by the Election Commission of India.
The electoral authority said the draft electoral roll for Delhi was published on August 31, based on Enumeration Forms submitted by electors whose names were present in the electoral roll before the commencement of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
The CEO's office said that the draft Photo Electoral Roll is available for inspection at the offices of EROs and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs), with Booth Level Officers (BLOs), and at designated polling stations across the Assembly Constituencies.
The CEO said electors who were unable to submit their Enumeration Forms during the stipulated period from June 30 to August 17, or those claiming to be genuine electors, can submit Form 6 along with the prescribed declaration and supporting documents during the claims and objections period, which runs from August 31 to September 30.
According to the CEO, around 2.14 lakh Forms 6, apart from Forms 7 and 8, were submitted by electors during the pre-SIR period. During the first eight days of the claims and objections period, another 25,011 Forms 6 were submitted up to September 7 for inclusion of names in the final electoral rolls.
"All Forms-6 submitted by electors for inclusion of their names during Pre-SIR period or during the period of claims & objections are under process alongwith Forms-7 and 8," the CEO said.
The authority said that once applications are approved, additions, deletions and modifications will be reflected in the electoral database. New additions will be published through a supplementary electoral roll scheduled for November 4, while modifications and deletions will be reflected in the updated roll against the relevant serial numbers.
The CEO further clarified that the EPIC number for a newly added elector is generated by the system at the time of approval of Form 6, while physical EPIC cards will be delivered as per the timelines prescribed by the Election Commission.
As of September 8, around 700 Forms submitted for inclusion of names had already been approved by EROs across Delhi's Assembly Constituencies, the CEO said.
The electoral authority also referred to the ECI's detailed SIR guidelines issued on May 14, particularly the provisions relating to preparation of the final electoral roll and publication of claims and objections.
The CEO said the list of claims and objections received has been published on its website to enable citizens to inspect the applications and lodge objections, if any, with the concerned ERO.
The Commission reiterated its commitment to a "transparent, participative and inclusive revision process", with the objective of ensuring that "no eligible citizen is left out while no ineligible person is included in the Electoral Roll."