Pune residents question SIR process after finding name missing from draft list

Vijay Menon, a long-time voter in Pune, has discovered his name has been removed from the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) draft electoral roll. He is classified as 'Permanently Shifted' according to the Absent, Shifted, Dead, and Duplicate (ASDD) list. Menon was not visited by any Booth Level Officer (BLO) as per the SIR procedure, but he claims he tried contacting the BLO without success due to his work schedule.

He questions how they could mark him permanently shifted without their visit. Menon's parents are also missing from the draft list, having originally lived in Vadgaon Sheri but moved to Chinchwad Assembly constituency. They too never received a visit from a BLO and now find their names removed from the draft roll. Shreyas Bhamare, another Pune resident, filled the online SIR enumeration form as no BLO visited his home.

However, the BLO later called him for his details and a week later another BLO asked for his parent's 2002 voter roll details. Bhamare noticed his name with the correct spelling was removed while one with a wrong spelling was added. He became confused as to what to do now that his name has been removed from the draft list. The Election Commission is urging voters to contact their BLOs and fill Form 6 to get their names back in the list by September 30.

After this, notices will be issued and hearings conducted for voters with discrepancies in their 2002 voting list details until October 29. The final electoral roll is set to be published on November 4.