In a recent announcement, the District Election Officer and Deputy Commissioner of Dharwad, Ms. Snehal R., clarified that the deadline for submitting filled enumeration forms remains firm and will not extend beyond July 29. According to the regulations set by the Election Commission of India (ECI), those voters who fail to submit their forms by this date will not appear in the draft electoral rolls.
Speaking to the media in Dharwad on July 13, Ms. Snehal noted that with just two weeks left until the deadline, the district administration has ramped up efforts to distribute and collect Enumeration Forms (EFs) under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) initiative. “Door-to-door verification by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) commenced on June 30. There will be no extension of the deadline as per ECI guidelines,” she stated.
The publication of the draft electoral roll is slated for August 5. Following this, voters will be provided an opportunity to correct any inaccuracies they may have made while filling out the enumeration forms.
From August 5 to September 4, voters can rectify errors and submit objections. The resolution of these objections will take place from August 5 until October 3, culminating in the final electoral roll, which is scheduled for publication on October 7.
Furthermore, Ms. Snehal emphasized that there will be no new enrollments in the electoral roll until the SIR process concludes. To date, the BLOs in the district have successfully distributed 1,519,544 enumeration forms, achieving an impressive coverage rate of 96.69% of the total electorate of 1,621,961. The administration is aiming for complete distribution of these forms within the next two days, with 20.58% of submitted forms already digitized.
In response to inquiries, she revealed that during their door-to-door visits, BLOs found that 20,499 voters were not present at their registered addresses, suggesting they may have relocated. The Hubballi Dharwad East Assembly constituency recorded the highest numbers of absent voters, with 160,001, followed by Hubballi-Dharwad West with 3,359, and Hubballi-Dharwad Central with 1,067.
Additionally, there were 7,242 deceased voters identified, along with 27,594 voters who were permanently registered as having moved elsewhere. The Hubballi-Dharwad West constituency accounted for 15,057 of these permanently shifted voters, while Hubballi-Dharwad Central reported 11,346.
Ms. Snehal further clarified that if these individuals do not visit their designated polling stations and fail to provide valid documentation to support their claims, their names will be excluded from the draft voters’ list.
To assist voters struggling with the form-filling process, 452 voter facilitation centers have been established across the district. Voters can seek help from BLOs in completing the required forms.
