New Delhi, Nov 28 (IANS): Booth Level Officers (BLOs) collected nearly 1.62 lakh forms during house visits to address additions, deletions, and corrections in the electoral roll in the past three months, said Delhi’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) R. Alice Vaz on Thursday.
Vaz also highlighted that for the upcoming Assembly elections the number of polling stations is likely to increase by 70, ensuring better accessibility and convenience for voters across Delhi.
She said house-to-house (H2H) verification was conducted by BLOs starting August 20 to identify unenrolled voters, prospective electors who will turn 18 by October 1, 2025, and entries requiring deletion, such as those for deceased or permanently shifted voters.
“Cases of multiple entries and family splits were also identified. During this extensive verification drive, BLOs collected approximately 1.62 lakh forms (6, 7, and 8) to address additions, deletions, and corrections in the electoral roll,” said Vaz in a statement.
The H2H work was regularly monitored at each level by BLO Supervisors, Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AERO), Electoral Registration Officer (ERO), District Election Officer (DEO) and at the CEO-level, Vaz said in the statement.
The CEO’s remarks about the revision of electoral roll in poll-bound Delhi come close on the heels of Chief Minister Atishi’s allegation of wrongdoings in the exercise.
On Tuesday, CM Atishi said she had got inputs from BLOs and AEROs that they were under pressure from SDMs to remove names of AAP voters from the electoral roll under instructions from the BJP-led Central government.
The Delhi BJP countered the CM’s allegation by calling it the ruling AAP’s admission of defeat in the upcoming Assembly election and an attempt to spread misinformation about the removal of fake and “burqa voters” from the voters’ list.
Earlier, the Delhi CEO urged voters to ensure that their names were listed in the electoral roll, “It may be noted that mere holding of a voter identity card does not entitle the voter to cast his/her vote during election. The name of the voter has to be present in the electoral roll.”
Additionally, Vaz said that rationalisation of polling stations was carried out as another key pre-revision activity in the city.
“This process is aimed at decongesting polling locations with a high number of stations, as per the guidelines of the Election Commission of India (ECI). A total of 53 polling station locations were removed due to damaged or demolished buildings, while 123 new polling station locations were added. This resulted in a net increase of 70 polling station locations, ensuring better accessibility and convenience for voters across Delhi,” she said.