Only 2.5 lakh Form 6 applications filed after Delhi SIR dropped 4.76 million names from rolls

After the draft roll dropped 4.76 million names from Delhi voter rolls on August 31, only 250,000 Form 6 applications were filed through October 22, the chief electoral officer (CEO) said on Friday, adding that West Delhi accounted for the largest chunk and New Delhi the smallest.

This application tally consists of both new first-time electors and citizens whose names were erased under the Absent, Shifted, Dead, or Duplicate (ASDD) categories during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR). The CEO’s office confirmed that 250,754 Form 6 applications were received till October 22.

This number includes new electors and those deleted by the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). In addition, another 212,400 Form 6 applications were received prior to the draft roll coming out on August 31.

The CEO’s office also noted that 3.3 million voters were flagged, indicating that either of them does not have any link to the 2002 base voter roll or has logical discrepancies. It said that those people will be part of the final rolls unless someone files a Form 7 objecting to their inclusion or seeking their removal, in which case they will be vetted.

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Special camps nationwide

This stretch from August 31 to October 22 also covers roughly a month since the Election Commission of India (ECI) rolled out special camps nationwide to help voters re-enter the electoral rolls. The first such camp was held in Delhi on September 20, and since then, around 89,000 camps have been conducted, according to the CEO’s office.

Between September 20 and October 22, authorities received 158,470 Form 6 applications. The CEO’s office said all these applications must be cleared by November 30, ahead of the final electoral roll’s publication on December 4.

Form 6 is the statutory form under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, meant for those seeking to have their names added to the electoral rolls. The ECI has also encouraged individuals removed from the rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) to use the same form to get themselves re-included.