Jharkhand voter enrolment under the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has received a muted response in several locations, prompting officials to intensify door-to-door outreach and public awareness efforts. The Election Commission has extended key deadlines, with the final electoral roll now scheduled for publication on November 30.
Several eligible residents had not approached booth level officers (BLOs) for enrolment during help desks and awareness meetings held across the state on Saturday. The response varied between polling stations, with some BLOs reporting increased public interest while others continued to see limited participation from eligible voters.
At a polling station in Ranchi, BLO Pratima Toppo said residents who had initially shown little interest were beginning to recognise the importance of the revision exercise. “Initially, people were not taking any interest, but now they are,” she said. BLO Angela Minz, however, said some eligible residents had still not come forward to enrol. Another BLO, Maria Goretti Bara, said some voters were continuing to collect, fill and submit Forms 6 and 8.
Form 6 is used to apply for inclusion in the electoral roll, while Form 8 is used for correcting or updating entries, according to the process explained during the enrolment camps. The interactions also showed that some BLOs were not aware of the Election Commission’s revised schedule for the SIR exercise.
Under the revised timetable, the final electoral roll, earlier scheduled for publication on October 19, will now be published on November 30. The deadline for disposing of notices and conducting hearings has been extended from October 14 to October 31. Applications received after September 30 will be processed by November 23.
The help desks and meetings between BLOs and BLA-2 representatives were organised in accordance with Election Commission directions. Chunav Pathshalas were also held to inform young and other eligible citizens about the enrolment process and the documents required. The outreach is intended to ensure that eligible residents are able to submit applications and that electoral records are updated before the elections.
Chief Electoral Officer K Ravi Kumar inspected help desks at polling stations in Hazaribag and Ramgarh and described the response at the camps as “fair”. North Chhotanagpur divisional commissioner Vijay Kumar Gupta also inspected polling booths in Ramgarh as part of the exercise, including booths 130, 131 and 132 in Ramgarh block and booths 235, 236 and 238 in Chitarpur block under the Ramgarh assembly constituency.
Gupta noted the low number of Form 6 applications for inclusion of new voters at some locations and directed BLOs and supervisors to intensify door-to-door outreach. He also asked officials to encourage eligible residents to submit the forms and ensure their timely online entry. Officials have been instructed to widen publicity and continue the enrolment process in line with the revised schedule, culminating in publication of the final electoral roll on November 30.
