Party workers are expected to help voters verify names and file claims during the process.
The Aam Aadmi Party has stepped up its attack over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Delhi’s electoral rolls, making the exclusion of nearly 47.6 lakh names from the draft voters’ list a major political issue ahead of the finalisation of the rolls. The draft electoral roll published on August 31 has 97,53,577 electors, against 1,45,10,299 in the previous roll. The Election Commission has said that enumeration forms could not be collected for 47,56,722 entries during the revision exercise. AAP has seized on the numbers to question whether the exercise could result in genuine voters being left out of the electoral roll. The party has also raised concerns about the difficulties faced by tenants, migrants and people who frequently change addresses, in proving their eligibility.
The party’s argument is not that all 47.56 lakh names represent genuine voters who have been wrongly excluded. Instead, AAP is questioning whether adequate safeguards are in place to ensure that legitimate voters do not lose their place on the electoral roll during the verification process. An AAP leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the party wanted the focus to remain on individual voters rather than merely on the overall numbers. “There may be several reasons why forms were not collected. But every genuine voter must get a clear and accessible opportunity to establish that he or she is still eligible to vote in Delhi,” the leader said. The Election Commission has categorised the names missing from the draft under different heads, including absent, shifted, deceased and duplicate entries. The exercise is therefore not a final declaration that all the excluded voters are ineligible. The claims-and-objections process provides an opportunity to voters whose names are missing to seek inclusion. The deadline for filing claims and objections is September 30, while the final electoral roll is scheduled to be published on November 4. For AAP, however, the controversy is also about political representation.
Delhi has a highly mobile population, with large numbers of people living in rented accommodation and moving between neighbourhoods or in and out of the city for employment. AAP believes these sections could be particularly vulnerable if documentation or physical verification becomes a barrier to retaining their names on the roll. A political commentator, who wished not to be named, tracking Delhi politics said AAP’s decision to aggressively raise the issue was driven by both electoral and organisational considerations. “The voter list gives AAP an issue that can be taken directly to households. The party can present itself as the defender of voters who fear losing their names, while simultaneously rebuilding its booth-level network,” the commentator said. According to the commentator, the issue also allows AAP to challenge the BJP without having to make the debate solely about governance or the performance of the new government.
