ECI to conduct house-to-house verification ahead of Bihar assembly polls

The Election Commission of India (ECI) is contemplating an intensive house-to-house verification during the upcoming electoral roll revision ahead of the Bihar assembly elections, a poll panel source said on Sunday.

Asserting that the move is aimed to ensure that the electoral rolls are accurate, up-to-date, and free from errors, the source said: “Over the past, persistent concerns have often been raised by various civil society organizations, political parties and agencies regarding the inclusion or deletion of names of the electors in the Electoral Rolls.”

Advertisement

“Sanguine about its responsibility, the Election Commission of India has repeatedly emphasized that it is committed to ensuring that only genuine and eligible citizens are enrolled in the electoral rolls. Regular exercise of revision of the Electoral Rolls is undertaken annually throughout the country by the ECI and also before the holding of Elections/Bye-polls by ECI,” the source added.

He said the provisions regarding eligibility to be registered as a voter and disqualifications for registration in an electoral roll are clearly laid down in Article 326 of the Constitution of India and Section 16 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 respectively.

The country witnesses significant inter-state, intra-state, inter-district, and intra-district migration due to various reasons such as marriage, job opportunities, education, and family requirements.

“In 2024, 46.26 lakh persons shifted their residence, 2.32 crore applied for corrections, and 33.16 lakh requested for replacement,” the source said.

The ECI receives fewer requests for deletion of dead voters than registered deaths, as families often do not approach the ECI for deletion, the official said while asserting that new voters attaining the age of 18 are added to the electoral rolls.

He said electors can also request corrections in their details, such as names, photographs, and addresses.

The ECI, he said, has set a new limit of 1200 electors per polling station, down from 1500, to ensure that no elector has to travel more than 2 kilometres to cast their vote.

The poll panel also aims to identify and delete names of foreign illegal immigrants from the electoral rolls.

The ECI has emphasized its commitment to ensuring that only genuine and eligible citizens are enrolled in the electoral rolls. The commission follows a detailed protocol for updating the electoral rolls, providing sufficient opportunity for political parties to file claims, objections, and appeals before the final electoral roll is published.