Jharkhand SIR: 4.37m may be dropped in draft rolls, over 7 lakh dead voters recorded

Ranchi recorded the highest number of dead voters at 94,463, followed by Dhanbad at 61,003, till 8 pm on Wednesday.

The enumeration phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Jharkhand concluded on Wednesday, with 4.37 million forms remaining uncollected, including 763,000 belonging to dead voters, officials said on Thursday.

The enumeration exercise began across the state on June 30, during which Booth Level Officers (BLOs) conducted door-to-door visits to distribute, collect and verify enumeration forms. (HT Photos)

The enumeration exercise began across the state on June 30, during which Booth Level Officers (BLOs) conducted door-to-door visits to distribute, collect and verify enumeration forms. Chief electoral officer (CEO) K Ravi Kumar said the draft electoral roll will be published on August 5, along with the list of Absent, Shifted, Dead and Duplicate (ASDD) voters.

“The draft publication of the voter list will be done on August 5. The Absent, Shifted, Dead and Duplicate (ASDD) list will also be published on the same day. Both the lists will be provided to all recognised political parties in soft copy, and to the BLA-2 of recognised political parties at all polling stations in hard copy (printed form),” Kumar said.

“The period for filing claims and objections will be from August 5 to October 3. During this period too, the active participation of all stakeholders in the SIR of the voter list is also expected,” he added.

According to officials, 26.46 million registered voters in the state were covered during the exercise and all enumeration forms, including those of uncollectable electors, have been digitised, covering nearly 100% of the electorate.

Election Commission data showed that 4.37 million forms remained uncollectable, including 763,930 belonging to dead voters, 1.59 million to permanently shifted electors and 1.46 million to voters who were absent or untraceable.

Ranchi recorded the highest number of dead voters at 94,463, followed by Dhanbad at 61,003, till 8 pm on Wednesday.

Officials said urban assembly segments accounted for a large share of uncollected forms, with migration and duplicate voter registrations among the likely reasons. The final electoral rolls will be published on October 7.