Delhi’s special camps for the electoral roll revision saw Booth Level Officers wait for voters whose names had disappeared from the draft rolls, even as residents arrived to seek inclusion, correct details or resolve notices related to their addresses and registration status.
The camps were held at polling stations across the city on October 18, with another round scheduled for October 25. The Election Commission converted several schools, including Municipal Corporation of Delhi schools, into centres where voters could raise grievances and submit applications through Form 6 for inclusion or Form 8 for corrections.
The scale of the revision has made the camps significant. Delhi’s draft electoral rolls published in August listed around 97.5 lakh electors, down from 1.46 crore before the Special Intensive Revision began in June. As many as 48.5 lakh electors were categorised under ASDD — Absent, Shifted, Dead or Duplicate.
At an MCD school in Batla House, near Masjid Khalilullah, teachers sat with bundles of Form 6 while waiting for residents. By 4 pm, only around five voters had reached the camp. Mohammed Muslim, who said he had lived in Jamia Nagar for more than two decades, told the BLO that his name had been removed from the draft list. He was advised to submit Form 6 with a declaration and the required documents.
Another resident, Mohammad Anas, said he had been registered as a Delhi voter since 2010 but had also held a voter identity card in Amroha, Uttar Pradesh. After applying to transfer his vote to Delhi during the revision process in that state, he said he discovered that his name had been deleted from both places. The BLO advised him to apply through Form 6, and Anas said he hoped his name would be included after the camp.
Turnout was similarly limited at other locations. At an MCD school in Kailash Colony, BLO Amit Kumar said he waited for more than five hours while around four people arrived. One resident submitted Form 8 to correct details, while another brought his son, who had returned after studying abroad, to register as a new voter.
Across the Yamuna, BLO Vinay Kumar said only seven people flagged for notices had appeared after several phone calls. He said migrant labourers had returned to their hometowns for the festive season and that residents in his area were also using the online process. In Sarai Kale Khan, BLO Mukesh Chand Meena said he had contacted voters and asked them to resolve notices or submit Form 6, but only two women whose names had not been mapped to the previous revision came to the camp.
The field response also highlighted the administrative burden on election workers. BLOs reported door-to-door visits, repeated phone calls and the transport of bundles of forms, while teachers assigned to the camps said they were performing additional duties and commuting at their own expense. One BLO said several people marked under ASDD had changed addresses, including tenants and students who had moved from rented accommodation.
The Election Commission said it was trying to improve turnout. A senior official said lists of electors categorised under ASDD had been shared with political party representatives so they could help contact the affected voters. The official added that public representatives, non-governmental organisations and local residents had used loudspeakers in some areas to tell people to check their voter details and correct errors.
The Commission had directed 20 states and Union Territories where the SIR had been completed to conduct a special drive for voters left out of the rolls. Delhi’s next scheduled camp on October 25 will provide another opportunity for residents to seek enrolment or correction before the revision process moves forward.
