The Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) is seeking the Election Commission of India's (ECI) approval for a 'supplementary' voters list to be used in the upcoming civic polls. This move comes amidst growing concerns and scrutiny regarding the accuracy and validity of existing voter lists across the state.
The SEC's request highlights the complexities and challenges in ensuring fair and transparent local body elections. The current standard practice involves utilizing voter lists prepared by the ECI for Assembly constituencies as the base for all local self-government elections, including municipal corporations, municipal councils, nagar panchayats, zilla parishads, and panchayat samitis. These lists are adopted without altering original names or addresses.
However, opposition parties have raised concerns about irregularities and discrepancies within these voter lists. Allegations of duplicated names, incorrect addresses, and "bogus voters" have fueled demands for a thorough revision before the civic polls proceed. Some parties have even suggested postponing the elections to allow for a comprehensive update to the electoral rolls. The Congress party, for example, claims to have registered formal complaints about the voter lists during the Assembly elections, but alleges that no action was taken.
In response to these concerns, the SEC has already directed officials to verify and remove any duplicate names in the voter lists ahead of the polls. Names suspected of being duplicated are marked with a double asterisk in preliminary and final local body voter lists. Local officials are tasked with determining whether such entries belong to the same individual or different people through verification of name, gender, address, and photograph. Voters may be asked to submit a declaration specifying their intended polling station, and they will only be permitted to vote at that designated location after strict identity verification.
The SEC has also conveyed to the ECI that it cannot conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Maharashtra until January 2026, or after the local body polls are completed, as directed by the Supreme Court. An SIR is a comprehensive revision of electoral rolls typically conducted before major elections when the existing rolls are deemed outdated or inaccurate. The SEC cited that officials will be busy conducting the local body elections. The ECI had ordered an SIR in Bihar months before the assembly elections.
The opposition has questioned why a revision of electoral rolls cannot be carried out in Maharashtra similar to what was done in Bihar before the Assembly elections. In light of these challenges, the SEC's request for a 'supplementary' voters list could represent an attempt to address some of the identified issues without undertaking a full-scale revision. The exact nature and scope of this supplementary list remain to be seen, but it likely aims to incorporate updated information and rectify errors in the existing rolls.
Meanwhile, the ECI has activated its 'Book-a-Call with BLO' feature and voter helpline number (1950) to handle citizen queries and improve voter assistance. This initiative allows citizens to directly contact their Booth Level Officer (BLO) through the ECINET platform. The ECI urges voters to use these resources for any election-related information, feedback, suggestions, or complaints, ensuring that voter concerns are resolved promptly and efficiently.
