Pune: Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday urged voters to verify names and other details in the draft electoral roll to allay concerns over SIR amid Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal’s demand to scrap it alleging unjustified deletions.Fadnavis endeavoured to address eight “misconceptions” about the special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls through a series of social media posts. He said the exercise was aimed to update rolls and eligible voters should check their entries to protect voting rights.He said people whose names were missing could apply for inclusion through Form 6, while Form 8 could be used to correct names, addresses and other details. “Voters need not necessarily have to visit election offices to submit documents, as these could be provided through booth-level officers (BLOs) in certain cases. However, they should not ignore official notices and must attend hearings when required,” he said in the post.Fadnavis clarified that artificial intelligence (AI) tools were used to identify similar entries, but statutory decisions on inclusion or deletion rested with electoral registration officers (EROs), not AI. The law did not permit a person’s name to appear on electoral rolls at multiple locations, he said.He said eligible new voters could apply for registration through Form 6 without waiting for the SIR to conclude. Decisions related to electoral rolls could be challenged through appeals under relevant rules. Voters could also seek assistance through the official election portal or Election Commission of India (ECI)’s 1950 helpline, Fadnavis said.In contrast, state Congress chief Sapkal in a statement on Tuesday demanded that SIR be scrapped, alleging that the exercise was complicated and time-consuming from the outset. It discouraged participation and undermined public confidence in ECI, he said.Sapkal said ECI announced SIR on May 14 and BLOs were scheduled to visit households and collect enumeration forms between June 30 and July 29. The enumeration schedule was extended twice before the draft roll was finally published on Aug 31 instead of the initially scheduled Aug 5.Citing figures from the SIR exercise, Sapkal said around 7.9 lakh names were deleted before the enumeration began. He said another 2.06 crore names were removed after the enumeration forms were collected. Of these, he said, 1.54 crore voters were other than those classified as dead or duplicate entries. These deletions were attributed to absence, migration and other circumstances, he said.Sapkal argued that allowing fresh applications through Form 6 after the deletions raised questions about the grounds on which the names were removed. He also said around 40 lakh people who had turned 18 since Oct 2024 had not been registered as voters. “Together, these accounted for around 1.94 crore people, but only 8.33 lakh citizens submitted Form 6 applications,” he said.The Maharashtra Congress chief alleged that notices were issued to 1.22 crore voters on the draft roll, requiring them to submit supporting documents. He alleged that ECI was working in BJP’s interests. Sapkal said the alleged deletions and low response to fresh registration showed that the SIR had failed to inspire public confidence.
