Thane SIR: 9 Lakh Voters May Face Exclusion

The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Thane district has completed 53.31 per cent of the enumeration work so far. However, with a substantial number of voters yet to submit their forms, nearly 9 lakh voters may face exclusion from the electoral rolls.

District Election Officer and Collector Dr Shrikrishna Panchal has appealed to voters to submit their enumeration forms by August 17, warning that those who fail to complete the process within the stipulated deadline may find their names excluded or marked as absent.

Dr Panchal made the appeal while addressing a press conference held to review the progress of the SIR exercise across all 18 Assembly constituencies in Thane district. He also urged political parties to take an active role in ensuring that maximum voters complete and submit their enumeration forms before the extended deadline.

The deadline for submitting the forms was extended to August 17 in view of the progress of the SIR exercise across Maharashtra. The district administration has appealed to voters to utilise the additional time and complete the process to avoid their names being affected during the revision of the electoral rolls.

According to figures presented by the district administration, Thane has 74,50,515 registered voters, of whom enumeration forms have been distributed to 66,49,753 voters. So far, enumeration forms pertaining to 39,71,989 voters, or 53.31 per cent, have been digitised.

At the same time, 12,33,465 forms are yet to be submitted, according to the district administration. The administration has also identified 93,408 duplicate voters, which will either be removed or placed in the appropriate ‘absent’ category after verification.

The constituencies with relatively lower SIR coverage include Ambernath, Kalyan West, Kalyan East, Dombivli, Thane City, and Ulhasnagar. The district administration plans to intensify awareness and verification efforts in these constituencies to improve participation before the deadline.

Dr Panchal attributed the comparatively low response in some areas partly to migration, with a significant number of residents originally from states such as Bihar and Rajasthan not completing the mapping process in Thane.

The SIR exercise aims to ensure the accuracy and purity of the electoral rolls, and the district administration is working to ensure that all eligible voters are included in the rolls.

The exclusion of nearly 9 lakh voters from the electoral rolls could have significant implications for the upcoming elections, and the district administration is urging all voters to submit their forms by the deadline to avoid any issues.

In conclusion, the Thane district administration is working to complete the SIR exercise and ensure that all eligible voters are included in the electoral rolls. With the deadline for submitting enumeration forms approaching, voters are urged to complete the process to avoid exclusion from the electoral rolls.