ASDD bulk deletions effected by ECI without due procedure through autogenerated Form-7s signed by EROs

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The Election Commission of India (ECI) and its local functionaries may have been the biggest bulk deleter of voters in Telangana and elsewhere in the country without adhering to prescribed procedure as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of Electoral Rolls (SIR).

Lakhs of voters who were bunched under the ‘Absent, Shifted, Dead, and Duplicate’ (ASDD) categories, were deleted by the respective Electoral Registration Officers on behalf of the ECI without following the procedure laid out in the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.

It is learnt from reliable sources that Form-7s with regard to all these deletions were auto-generated by the ERONET software, with EROs’ names mentioned as the objectors.

At the end of Enumeration Phase in Telangana, a total 73,39,235 electors were shown under the ASDD categories, majority of them as Absent and Shifted.

As per the officials, all the voters who have not collected/returned the Enumeration Forms were shown under the ASDD categories, though the deaths have been accepted only after receiving death certificates or declaration by family members as proof. Duplicate voters were recognised by running the ERONET software for demographically and photographically similar entries. A total 45,18,963 voters have been listed as ‘Permanently Shifted’, while 11,25,546 were shown as Absent/Untraceable voters.

However, there is no confirmation in case of majority of the voters shown under the Absent and Shifted categories, as very few Booth Level Officers actually went from home to home distributing the Enumeration Forms and collecting them back.

Most of the BLOs especially in the urban areas, set up their work place at one central location, and distributed the forms to only those who came to collect them. At the end of the Enumeration Phase, the BLOs simply submitted reports marking those who had not collected/returned the forms as either Absent or Shifted.

Later, at a tap on the mobile app, auto-generated Form-7s digitally signed by the EROs were generated and the voters got deleted, before draft electoral rolls were published.

Soon after the Enumeration Phase, the office of the Chief Electoral Officer displayed the ASDD list on its website, and asked the voters who got deleted to apply afresh for enrolment through submission of Form-6. When sought their version, officials from the CEO’s office said the EROs were authorised by law to take up suo-motu deletions as part of the intensive revision.

The Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 do authorise the EROS to delete names if, owing to inadvertence or error or otherwise, the names of dead, shifted and other persons have been included into the rolls.

The EROs, however, are obligated to prepare a list of names and details of the electors, and display them on the notice board of their respective offices along with a notice seeking objections.