Special revision of photo electoral rolls in NE states

Agrtala/Shillong/Kohima, Nov 9 (IANS) The Election Commission has directed most northeastern states, especially election-bound Nagaland, Tripura, and Meghalaya to undertake a special summary revision of photo electoral rolls with January 1, 2023 as the qualifying date, officials said.

As part of the special summary revision, the draft photo electoral rolls were published on Wednesday in all the states. After a two-month long process, the final publication of the electoral rolls would be done on January 5.

Assembly polls in Nagaland, Tripura and Meghalaya would be held on the basis of the fresh electoral rolls, the officials said.

Tripura Chief Electoral Officer Gitte Kirankumar Dinkarrao said in Agartala that from now onwards, the annual summary revision would be conducted with reference to January 1 of the year as qualifying date, with three subsequent qualifying dates being April 1, July 1, and October 1.

An eligible citizen, who is going to attain the age of 18 years on any of the subsequent qualifying dates in 2023, may also file his or her claim for inclusion of his/her name in the roll, in Form 6 in advance, starting from date of notice, and the same shall be considered and decided in the respective quarter of the year with reference to the respective qualifying date, he said.

In Shillong, Meghalaya CEO F. R Kharkongor said that the main aim of the special summary revision is to have 100 per cent enrolment of the eligible voters and voting of the genuine citizens and also to achieve 'PHITT' (purification, healthy electoral rolls, inclusiveness, transparency and tech-enabled) enrolment and voting from roll to poll and Mission UNITE (U & I towards enrolment).

In Kohima, Nagaland CEO V. Shashank Shekhar, during his interaction with the electoral roll observers, stressed the importance of healthy and error-free electoral rolls for the conduct of elections, which is at the heart of democracy. He also highlighted the recent amendments in the election laws, particularly the introduction of multiple qualifying days for enrolment in the electoral roll and the collection of Aadhaar data from the electors voluntarily for linking and authentication of electoral rolls data.

He said that, as representatives of the Election Commission, the roll observers play an important role in bringing out a defect-free and authentic electoral roll for the conduct of future elections.

In Guwahati, Assam CEO Nitin Khade appealed to all prospective electors to come forward and apply for registration. He also flagged off a Cycle Rally with the theme "Pedal for Participative Elections" from Dispur Civil Secretariat Play Ground and it covered the route from Dispur to Bhangagarh, Bhangagarh to Khanapara and back to Dispur.

Assembly elections to Meghalaya, Nagaland, and Tripura are expected to be held in February 2023 as the terms of the current Nagaland, Meghalaya and Tripura Assemblies would end on March 12, 15 and 22, respectively.