The Election Commission has asked election officials in districts to identify booth-level officers (BLOs) who did not do their work properly during the special intensive revision (SIR) of the voter list, indicating that steps could be initiated against those found responsible for uploading lakhs of erroneous enumeration forms.
The move, sources said, was significant as it appeared that the EC wanted to send a message to the officials, who would be conducting the hearing and verification of voters, that errors in carrying out the SIR process would not be tolerated.
“The EROs and AEROs have been asked to identify BLOs who did not do their work properly. Once the enumeration process is over on December 11, steps could be initiated against errant BLOs. This will send a message to the EROs and the AEROs, who would conduct the hearing and verification process, from December 16,” said an official aware of the development.
Voters, who have their names on the 2025 rolls but could not establish links to the 2002 list, will be called for verification and a hearing. They will have to explain why their names or their parents' names were not listed in the 2002 rolls. These voters would have to submit documents required to establish their claims to get enrolled in the post-SIR voters' list.
“As the EROs and AEROs will decide on the inclusion of voters' names in the electoral rolls after hearing and verifying the documents of such voters, the EC wants to ensure that the exercise is done in a free and fair way. This is why the poll panel wants to send a message to these officials ahead of the verification exercise,” said another official.
Sources said the decision to identify errant BLOs was taken after it was noticed that lakhs of erroneous forms were uploaded and the EC felt that it could have been averted if the BLOs had worked properly.
Sources said that about 30 lakh forms had been uploaded where voters linked themselves to the 2002 rolls but their parents' names differ in the two lists. Moreover, the photographs attached by the voters do not match.
“Some male voters have attached photographs of women. Some aged voters have attached photographs of a 20-year-old. All these raise questions about the identity of these voters. These errors could have been averted if the BLOs worked properly and checked the forms before uploading them,” said a source.
The errors at the end of the BLOs have forced the EC to go for progeny mapping even before the draft rolls are published. The EC was also forced to issue an order to check whether all the dead voters were identified during the enumeration process.
“All these had to be done as many BLOs did not work properly either under political pressure or intentionally. Now, if they are not punished, the officials who would conduct the hearing and verification could take it lightly,” said a bureaucrat.
Another official explained why setting an example ahead of the hearing process was important.
"If the EROs and AEROs don't verify the documents properly, illegitimate names would make entry into the voters' list," the official said.
“Soon after the verification of voters, who won't be able to establish their links with the 2002 rolls, the final electoral rolls will be published. It would draw severe controversy if any name were deleted after the publication of the final rolls. This is why it is important to prevent any wrong entry into the final list,” added the official.