Latest news with #BiharAssemblyPolls
Mint
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Mint
Bihar Assembly Elections: ECI mulls intensive house-to-house verification, here's why
Ahead of the Bihar Assembly Polls, the Election Commission of India (ECI) is mulling an intensive house-to-house verification during the upcoming electoral roll revision, reported PTI quoting ECI sources. According to the report, the ECI is planning the verification to make the Electoral Rolls completely robust and free of any kind of errors. This is not the first time when ECI has done rigorous revision of the electoral rolls. The last such exercise was undertaken in the year 2004, ECI sources said. Earlier, various civil society organisations, political parties and agencies have raised their concerns regarding the inclusion or deletion of names of the electors in the Electoral Rolls. The Election Commission of India has repeatedly emphasised that it is committed to ensuring that only genuine and eligible citizens are enrolled in the electoral rolls. Regular exercise of revision of the Electoral Rolls is undertaken annually throughout the country by the ECI and also before the holding of Elections/Bye-polls by the ECI. Constitutional and legal frameworks are also quite clear and robust in this regard. The provisions regarding eligibility to be registered as a voter and disqualifications for registration in an electoral roll are clearly laid down in Article 326 of the Constitution of India and Section 16 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 respectively. The need for constant updation of the electoral rolls arises due to various reasons, such as migration/shifting of electors. "The country continuously witnesses inter-state, intra-state, inter-district and intra-district migration due to reasons such as marriage, job opportunities, education, family requirements etc. For instance, during the year 2024 as per forms received by the ECI, 46.26 lakh persons shifted their residence, 2.32 crore applied for corrections and 33.16 lakh requested for replacement. Thus, in a single year, nearly 3.15 crore changes were required to be made across the country," ECI sources said. The number of deletions of dead voters is much lower compared to the registered deaths since the families do not approach the ECI for deletion of names of their kin. Also, another reason for constant updating is the addition of the names of young electors attaining the age of 18 years. It also includes corrections in the elector details such as names, photographs or address. Among other reasons for constant updation are rationalisation of polling stations as ECI wants to ensure no elector has to travel for more than 2 kilometers to cast their vote, and subsequent deletion names of foreign illegal immigrants in the electoral rolls.
India Gazette
9 hours ago
- Politics
- India Gazette
ECI mulling intensive house-to-house verification during Electoral Rolls revision for Bihar Polls
New Delhi [India], June 22 (ANI): Election Commission of India (ECI) is contemplating an intensive house-to-house verification during the upcoming electoral roll revision before Bihar Assembly Polls in order to make the Electoral Rolls completely robust and free of any kind of errors, according to ECI sources. Such intensive and rigorous revision of the electoral rolls has been done in the past as well. The last such exercise was undertaken in the year 2004, ECI sources said. Over the past, persistent concerns have often been raised by various civil society organisations, political parties and agencies regarding the inclusion or deletion of names of the electors in the Electoral Rolls. Sanguine about its responsibility, the Election Commission of India has repeatedly emphasised that it is committed to ensuring that only genuine and eligible citizens are enrolled in the electoral rolls. Regular exercise of revision of the Electoral Rolls is undertaken annually throughout the country by the ECI and also before the holding of Elections/Bye-polls by the ECI. Constitutional and legal frameworks are also quite clear and robust in this regard. The provisions regarding eligibility to be registered as a voter and disqualifications for registration in an electoral roll are clearly laid down in Article 326 of the Constitution of India and Section 16 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 respectively. The need for constant updation of the electoral rolls arises due to various reasons, such as migration/shifting of electors. 'The country continuously witnesses inter-state, intra-state, inter-district and intra-district migration due to reasons such as marriage, job opportunities, education, family requirements etc. For instance, during the year 2024 as per forms received by the ECI, 46.26 lakh persons shifted their residence, 2.32 crore applied for corrections and 33.16 lakh requested for replacement. Thus, in a single year, nearly 3.15 crore changes were required to be made across the country,' ECI sources said. Deletion of names of dead electors: Generally, number of deletions of dead voters is much lesser than the registered deaths as the families do not approach the ECI for deletion of names of their kin. The other reason for constant updating is addition of names of young electors attaining the age of 18 years and corrections in the elector details such as names/photographs/address. Rationalisation of Polling stations for various reasons, especially in view of the new limit set by the ECI of 1200 electors per polling station from the earlier 1500 and the commitment of the ECI to ensure that no elector has to travel for more than 2 kilometers to cast their vote and identification and subsequent deletion names of foreign illegal immigrants in the electoral rolls are the other reason to constantly update the electoral rolls. The entire process of updation of the electoral rolls is conducted as per law/rules/instructions of the ECI, and sufficient opportunity is provided to the political parties to file claims, objections and appeals before the final electoral is published. However, in spite of following a detailed protocol, insinuations and allegations are often made against the ECI for arbitrarily inflating the electoral roll, even though, the exercise is conducted with complete transparency and under constant scrutiny of the political parties. (ANI)
Hans India
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Hans India
EC mulls house-to-house verification for revision of electoral rolls, ahead of Bihar elections
In a major step towards enhancing transparency in electoral rolls, the Election Commission has zeroed in on plans to undertake intensive and rigorous revision of the electoral data. According to EC sources, the poll body is contemplating carrying out intensive house-to-house verification of electoral rolls for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections. The move comes on the back of recent controversy, pertaining to the inclusion or deletion of names of electors and allegations by political parties and civil society groups about alleged manipulation and fiddling of data during the process, with an intent to benefit a certain party. The EC has, however, emphasised time and again that it is committed to ensuring that only genuine and eligible citizens are enrolled in the electoral rolls, stating that regular exercise of revision of Electoral Rolls is undertaken annually throughout the country by the EC and also before the holding of elections/by-elections by the EC. Notably, the constitutional and legal frameworks are quite clear when it comes to the addition or deletion of voters from the electoral list. Also, the provisions regarding eligibility and disqualification of any voter are clearly laid down in Article 326 of the Constitution of India and Section 16 of the Representation of the People Act. However, the need for updation (deletion/addition) of electoral rolls arises because of unavoidable reasons like death, migration of electors, addition of new electors, correctional changes for names or photos and rationalisation of polling stations. EC officials maintain that the entire process of updation of the electoral rolls is conducted as per the rules and stipulated guidelines, and also sufficient opportunity is given to political parties to file claims, objections and appeals before the final electoral roll is published. Lately, the poll body has come under attack over changes in electoral rolls, which the political parties claimed were being done arbitrarily and to benefit a certain political outfit. The EC officials have dismissed these insinuations and allegations as absurd, categorically stating that the exercise is conducted with full transparency and under constant scrutiny of political parties. Now, in a bid to reinforce its credibility and instil more confidence in the public, the poll body is reportedly in the process of making the process more robust by undertaking house-to-house verification during the upcoming electoral roll revision before the Bihar Assembly Polls. Such intensive and rigorous revision of the electoral rolls was done in the past also, with the latest being undertaken in 2004. The new drive ahead of the upcoming Bihar elections will seek to reinforce EC's commitment to maintaining electoral vibrancy while debunking false claims of parties, at the same time.
