Jharkhand identifies over 6 lakh deceased voters during electoral roll revision

Officials identified over six lakh deceased electors among nearly 26 lakh uncollectable enumeration forms, including permanently shifted and untraceable voters, during the electoral roll revision.

In Short

• Booth-level officers contacted 99.58 per cent of Jharkhand's 2.64 crore electors
• Nearly 2.36 crore enumeration forms were digitised by Saturday morning
• Uncollectable forms include shifted, absent and untraceable voters besides deceased electors

Jharkhand has recorded more than six lakh dead voters during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, with Ranchi reporting the highest number of such electors till Saturday, an official said.

The door-to-door enumeration exercise began on June 30 and will continue till July 29.

Booth-level officers have reached 99.58 per cent of the state’s 2.64 crore electors under the ongoing exercise till 11 am on Saturday, according to officials.

The revision process includes distributing, collecting and verifying enumeration forms for eligible Indian citizens.

Chief Electoral Officer K Ravi Kumar told PTI, "BLOs have successfully reached out to 99.58 per cent of the total electorate, covering 2,63,51,520 voters, and made enumeration forms available to eligible Indian citizens through house-to-house visits."

He said 2,36,49,659 enumeration forms, or about 89.37 per cent, had been digitised till 11 am on Saturday.

He added, "About 26 lakh enumeration forms remain uncollectable till 11 am, which comprise of dead, permanently shifted, untraceable and other voters," and said distribution and collection of forms would continue till July 29.

According to election commission data, 25,85,506 enumeration forms remained uncollectable till Saturday morning, including 6,14,639 dead voters, 10,78,577 permanently shifted voters, and 5,96,575 untraceable or absent electors.

Among districts, Ranchi recorded the highest number of dead voters at 71,990, followed by Khunti at 53,885 till Saturday morning.

Ahead of the exercise, parental mapping of 82.08 per cent of the state’s electorate with the 2003 electoral rolls was completed, while around 47.41 lakh of the total 2.64 crore electors remain unmapped.

The draft electoral rolls will be published on August 5, after which claims and objections can be filed till September 4.

These will be disposed of between August 5 and October 3, and the final electoral rolls will be published on October 7. In all, the revision exercise has so far covered nearly the entire electorate, while officials continue to process forms linked to dead, shifted and untraceable voters.

- Ends