East Delhi Voter Digitisation Lags at 13 Percent as Poll Officials Face Challenges
The Election Commission of India has extended the deadline for its door-to-door voter enumeration drive to August 8, as Booth Level Officers in East Delhi struggle to digitise forms in areas like Mangal Bazaar and Chilla Village. East Delhi is currently among the worst-performing districts in the capital, having digitised only 13.81 percent of its voter enumeration forms, well below Delhi's citywide average of 21 percent.
The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, which is being conducted by the Chief Electoral Office, relies on Booth Level Officers (BLOs) to distribute, collect, and digitise forms. However, officials on the ground are racing against time due to unnumbered houses, confusing addresses, and residents who are unable to fill out the forms themselves.
In Mangal Bazaar's Block F, Vivek Kumar, an English teacher serving as a BLO, has had to navigate streets looking for addresses and helping residents find their details on the Election Commission Information Network (ECINET) app. He noted that many submitted forms are riddled with mistakes, forcing him to advise residents to photocopy the forms first. He also reported issues with outdated registries, where former residents have moved but remain registered at their old addresses.
Around 10 kilometres away in Chilla Village near the Yamuna, BLO Vinay Kumar faced similar hurdles. Many residents in the village are unable to read or write, requiring him to fill out forms on their behalf. Vinay Kumar spent over 30 minutes filling out forms for one family of five. He noted that Chilla Village lacks fixed addresses and features a high density of tenants, with up to 15 families sometimes renting rooms in a single house.
The logistical challenges have sparked anxiety among some residents. In Chilla Village, 60-year-old Anisha Khatum expressed concern over whether she would be excluded from the electoral rolls because she could not find her name on the 2002 list.
An election official explained that many electors in areas like Chilla Village and Kotla Village are uneducated labourers who do not understand the process or lack documentation proving where their parents lived. The Election Commission of India's deadline extension is intended to ensure no eligible voter is left out of the system.
