Ranchi, Aug 14 (IANS) The Election Commission of India has extended the deadline for filing claims and objections under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Jharkhand to September 15, giving voters more time to submit applications.
The process of issuing notices and disposing of claims and objections will now continue until October 14, while the final electoral roll will be published on October 19.
Jharkhand Chief Electoral Officer K. Ravi Kumar said on Friday that, to facilitate voters and ensure the timely disposal of applications, the Election Commission has appointed 311 additional Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) across the state.
The move is expected to accelerate the processing of applications, claims, and objections related to the electoral roll.
He said the state government had sought additional time from the Election Commission for the revision exercise following requests received from various districts. The demand was made in view of the ongoing monsoon season, the annual Shravani Mela in Deoghar and Dumka, and the engagement of a large number of people in agricultural activities.
Accepting the state’s request, the Commission revised the schedule for the electoral roll revision programme.
Under the revised timeline, claims and objections can now be filed up to September 15, while the process of issuing notices and disposing of such claims and objections will be completed by October 14. The final electoral roll will thereafter be published on October 19.
The draft electoral roll had earlier been published on August 5. As per the previous schedule, the last date for filing claims and objections was September 4, with their disposal to be completed by October 3, and the final publication of the electoral roll was slated for October 7.
The Chief Electoral Officer appealed to all eligible citizens whose names are not included in the draft electoral roll to apply for enrolment. He especially urged first-time voters to take advantage of the extended timeline and submit Form 6 through the ECINet platform to get their names registered.
He also encouraged young voters to motivate friends, family members and other eligible individuals in their communities to enrol as voters.
Voters can seek corrections in their name, address, age or other particulars through Form 8 in case of any errors in the electoral roll.
The officer said the objective of the SIR is to ensure that no eligible Indian citizen is left out of the electoral roll, while no ineligible or foreign national is included in it.
–IANS
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