SIR: Less than a week left; people struggle to get corrections, inclusion done

With less than a week left for the claims and objections period to end on September 23, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) are unable to accept Form-6 and Form-8 applications from voters seeking inclusion in the electoral rolls or correction of particulars, citing lakhs of pending hearings, intense pressure and the workload involved in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). 

Many people told The Hindu that when they approached polling stations to obtain or submit Form-6, BLOs asked them to apply online or visit the special camps scheduled for Saturday (September 19) and Sunday (September 20). However, the online portal was also not allowing them to complete the process, they said. 

Several people said the portal throws up errors while filling the declaration form, while many said that even after entering their 2002 electoral roll details in the declaration form, the system either failed to locate the record or showed a mismatch. 

“In cases where we selected the option indicating that the elector was not part of the 2002 roll, the form was also not being accepted by the BLO, who called and informed us that the form was not proceeding in the BLO app as the 2002 details were missing,” Jameel, a street vendor in Jayanagar, said. He said that he, his brother and sister had all been wrongly marked as permanently shifted. Unable to understand what they were expected to fill in the forms, he paid ₹900 at a cyber centre to get the forms filled for all three, at ₹300 each. He added, “We got e-acknowledgment, but don’t know what will happen to our names, as the 2002 details, flagged by the BLO previously, are still missing though the application is submitted.”  

Many other electors also said there was no update beyond the acknowledgement, leaving them unclear about whether their applications had been accepted or rejected. The portal only showed that the form had been submitted, with no BLO assigned to the application so far, they said. 

The problem is particularly acute for those seeking corrections through Form-8. Several voters said they were unable to proceed with corrections online even if there was only a minor spelling difference between the name on their voter card and Aadhaar. 

In multiple cases, Aadhaar details were correct, while names on voter cards contained spelling errors, with the transliteration of names into the voter database resulting in additions or changes to names. 

For instance, a voter seeking a spelling correction said his name was correctly recorded as ‘Nadagouda’ in Aadhaar, while his voter card recorded it as ‘Nadagowda’, with ‘u’ replaced by ‘w’. 

The website displays the following message when electors attempt to make such corrections: “Please ensure your name on voter card is same as that on Aadhaar Card and the mobile number linked with Aadhaar is with you for submitting the form for OTP verification and E-Sign. In case name on voter card is different from Aadhaar card, please get it corrected using name correction option or contact your BLO.” 

Although the website directs electors to the name-correction option, people said the option itself was not accessible. They also complained that BLOs were not reachable to help resolve the issue. 

The work keeps coming: BLO

BLOs, however, said they were working under intense pressure, with their immediate priority being to assist Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) with notice generation and voters who have been asked to appear for hearings. “We are working from 6 a.m. till at least 1 a.m. each day. The work keeps coming, from verification to uploading documents and then entering details into the system. Some Form-6 need verification too, and that process is pending,” a BLO said. 

BLOs added that they were trying to accommodate people seeking forms, but the pressure was to clear all notices before the deadline. “Sometimes, even when a person is submitting online, the form is not getting added in the app. Many people keep calling with queries, but the system is not accepting some changes from our side either,” a BLO said.