The Maharashtra SIR deadline for filing claims and objections to the draft electoral roll has been extended to October 26, after 2.83 lakh people submitted Form 6 applications in nine days to register as voters or restore their names to the electoral list.
The Election Commission of India said the additional applications, filed between October 3 and October 11, took the total number of Form 6 submissions in Maharashtra to 8.33 lakh since August 31. Pune recorded the highest number of applications at 68,764, followed by Thane with 58,143 and Mumbai Suburban with 48,861.
The extension was announced after Maharashtra chief electoral officer S Chockalingam requested more time in a letter dated October 7. The ECI invoked the proviso to Rule 12 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. The original deadline was October 12.
Chockalingam said the extension applied only to the filing of claims and objections. The remaining time in the revised schedule would be used by the election machinery to process and dispose of applications, according to the report.
The Special Intensive Revision, or SIR, was announced by the ECI on May 14 across 19 states and Union Territories, including Maharashtra. The state published its draft electoral roll on August 31 after identifying 1.22 crore electors under categories including unmapped voters and logical discrepancies. Notices were issued to those electors as part of the revision process.
Under the revised schedule, claims and objections can be filed until October 26. The issuing of notices and disposal of applications will continue until November 10, while the final electoral roll is scheduled to be published on November 16.
The Form 6 submissions include applications from new voters as well as existing voters whose names did not appear in the draft roll. The scale of submissions has been particularly high in Maharashtra’s largest urban districts, where population movement, address changes and constituency transfers can complicate the maintenance of electoral records. The supplied report does not establish how many applications will ultimately be accepted.
Form 7 applications, used to seek deletion of names or raise objections, stood at 25,661 across the state till October 11. Thane recorded the highest number of Form 7 applications at 2,173. These submissions represented about 0.03% of the electorate, according to the report.
Form 8 applications, used for corrections or shifting registration across assembly constituencies, were highest in Mumbai Suburban at 43,535. Thane recorded 29,977 such applications, while Pune received 27,592.
The revised process now moves from the claims and objections stage to scrutiny, notice issuance and disposal before the final electoral roll is published on November 16.
