Special campaign for registration, deletion and correction of particulars in voter list with qualifying date as 01.01.2022 begins: Dr. S.Karuna Raju CEO

Postal Ballot facility introduced for 80 plus citizens, persons with disability (PwD) and COVID patients in the state of Punjab

Chandigarh, August 13:

Revision exercise of voter list has been intensified in Punjab in view of upcoming assembly elections early next year. Disclosing this here today Dr. S. Karuna Raju, Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab said that the prevalent situation in the wake of COVID-19 has posed some challenges in conducting  elections, however, the election machinery is geared up to tide over this unprecedented situation.

Dr. Raju said as per guidelines of the Election Commission of India (ECI), a special campaign for registration, deletion and correction of particulars in voter list with qualifying date as 01.01.2022 has begun. Known as Special Summary Revision, this gives an opportunity to citizens to register themselves as voters and also to verify their electoral details through offline or online medium. In view of upcoming Assembly Election in first quarter of next year, this exercise will be extensively carried out across the state from district level constituency level to right upto the booth level.  A door-to-door exercise shall be undertaken by the Booth Level Officers (BLOs) between 09.08.2021 to 31.10.2021 to further intensify the campaign and plug the existing gaps.

He Further said with an objective to improve the health of electoral rolls and ensure enrolment of all eligible citizens, Special Summary Revision is conducted in the later part of each year in all the state/UTs. People who have not been able to register themselves as voters and those who find errors in the electoral rolls or have migrated to some other constituency, can utilize the special summary revision of the roll with the qualifying date as January 1st, 2022 i.e. who have completed or will be completing age of 18 on or before date 01.01.2022.

‘Removal of Demographically Similar Entries (DSEs), multiple entries and logical error shall take place between 09.08.2021 to 31.10.2021. Subsequently, the draft shall be published on 01.11.2021. Period for claims and objections has been kept between 01.11.2021 to 30.11.2021. Special camps shall also be held at all the polling stations on 06.11.2021, 07.11.2021, 20.11.2021 and 21.11.2021’. Said CEO.

He said as per the revised guidelines, ECI has provided the facility of voting through postal ballots (PB) paper to   Senior citizens (above 80 years of age),      Persons with disability flagged in the electoral roll and COVID-19 suspect or affected persons. ECI has taken several initiatives to mitigate the challenges posed by the pandemic; postal ballot facility for 80 plus electors and Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) is one such initiative.

Dr. Raju Said  BLOs will also visit all households to verify the electoral details. Citizens can verify their electoral details online through Toll free Help Line no. 1950, Mobile App, (Voter Helpline), National Voters Service Portal (nvsp.in). In addition, they can visit Common Service Centres (CSC) or submit hard copy of filled up forms to BLOs.

He said The citizens can authenticate their details and enroll as voters by submitting a copy of one of the official documents – Aadhaar Card, Permanent Account Number (PAN) card, Driving Licence, Passport, Passbook with photograph issued by a recognised bank or post office, Pension document with photograph for retired personnel, Service ID card issued by central/state government, MGNREGA job card, Health insurance smart card issued by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Authenticated photo voter slip issued by election machinery or any other document as approved by ECI.

The CEO, Punjab has directed all the Deputy Commissioners-cum-District Election Officers to undertake this revision activity and to supervise their teams periodically. CEO, Punjab will also encourage recognized political parties to identify and appoint Booth Level Agents (BLA) for each polling station who would identify the corrections, deletion and modification in electoral rolls along with BLOs.