Maharashtra Congress Seeks Extension Of SIR Voter Claims Deadline Till November 30 Over Exclusion Concerns

The Maharashtra Congress Committee has requested the Chief Electoral Officer to prolong the deadline for submitting claims and objections during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls until November 30. This plea comes in response to significant voter exclusions from the draft rolls. Adv. Sandesh Kondvilkar, a Congress general secretary, made this request in a letter to the Chief Electoral Officer, advocating for a transparent and voter-friendly process.

The exclusion of 2.06 crore voters, representing 21.14% of the 9.78 crore registered voters, is primarily due to the category "ASDD – Uncollectable."

Kondvilkar highlighted that the current deadline of August 31 to September 30 is insufficient, particularly as it aligns with the Ganesh festival period, during which many citizens travel to their hometowns. The party has also demanded that booth-wise lists of anomaly and unmapped voters be published, notices be delivered physically rather than via WhatsApp, and hearings conducted at polling stations instead of the current limited locations.

Additionally, Congress has urged for a simplified verification of ASDD voters, separate facilities for registering new voters, priority hearings for senior citizens, and written reasons for claim rejections within two days. They have also requested re-verification of deceased and duplicate voters and regular sharing of SIR-related information with political parties.