Pune: When a booth-level officer (BLO) visited 31-year-old IT professional Rohit Deshmukh’s (name changed) apartment in Pune last week, he realised he had two voter registrations.“I shifted from Nagpur to Pune four years ago for a job. I enrolled as a voter in Pune, but did not delete my name in Nagpur. The BLO said I should submit the enumeration form only for Pune where I now live,” he said.A 22-year-old postgraduate student from Satara had a similar experience. “My name is still on the electoral roll in my village, but I enrolled in Pune after moving here for studies. The BLO explained that I can remain registered only at one place,” she said.Duplicate registrations have become a key issue in the door-to-door verification exercise. BLOs have been provided with lists of photo-similar and suspected duplicate entries, electors whose names appear in more than one electoral roll.During verification, BLOs confirm whether the entries belong to the same individual and ask voters to declare their place of ordinary residence. State Election officials said that there are around 27 lakh photo-similar entries which have been shared with BLOs for checks.“If an elector’s name appears in more than one electoral roll, he or she should fill and sign the enumeration form only for the place where they are currently residing. The form relating to the other address will be marked as ‘already enrolled’, and the name will not be retained there,” a senior election official told TOI.Officials said such cases are common among people who have shifted cities for jobs, higher education or marriage but never applied for deletion of their names from their previous constituency.With Pune witnessing large-scale migration every year, election officials expect a significant number of duplicate registrations to surface during the revision exercise. “The Election Commission has urged voters to provide accurate information while filling the enumeration forms. Under Sections 17 and 18 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, a person cannot be registered more than once in an electoral roll or in the electoral rolls of more than one constituency,’’ senior election officials said.Officials also warned that voters should not submit enumeration forms for multiple addresses. Under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, making a false statement or declaration in connection with electoral roll registration is punishable with imprisonment for up to one year, a fine, or both.
