‘Marked shifted, forms not collected’: Delhi residents contest SIR deletions
Residents of a Delhi neighborhood are contesting the mass deletion of names from the draft electoral roll, with many being incorrectly marked as 'permanently shifted'. Citizen groups are conducting audits to challenge these administrative errors.
Why it matters
The integrity of electoral rolls is fundamental to democratic participation, and these deletions threaten the voting rights of marginalized communities.
Neelam, 45, a resident of JJ Colony in north-west Delhi’s Mangolpuri, arrived at the nearby Mahila Park in Y-Block at 10 a.m. on Saturday carrying her voter ID, pension card, electricity and water bills – all recognised as credible proofs of residence under the Election Commission (EC) guidelines. Yet, her name didn’t figure in the draft electoral roll prepared under the EC’s special intensive revision (SIR) published on August 31.
Instead, she was marked ‘permanently shifted’.
In a public hearing organised by Jan Sarokar, Voter Adhikar Manch, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) and the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW), aggrieved residents lined up since morning amid rain carrying all documents, including “uncollected” enumeration forms.
Ms. Neelam said she had submitted her enumeration form to the Booth-Level Officer (BLO), mapped it to her mother, and even kept a photocopy of the form as proof.
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