Knowledge Nugget | How does the Election Commission allocate election symbols?

The Election Commission has expanded the deadline for submitting claims, suggestions, and objections related to the draft electoral roll in Maharashtra. The new deadline is October 12, up from the previous September 30. Additionally, the deadline for issuing and resolving notices to 1.22 crore electors has been extended to November 10.

This extension was requested by the Chief Electoral Officer of Maharashtra, signaling the state's ongoing efforts to process a substantial number of cases that emerged during the revision. As of September 24, notices had been issued to 1.18 crore of the 1.22 crore electors targeted for the notice process. Three and a half lakh electors still awaited notice generation.

Maharashtra saw a significant increase in its electoral roll before the SIR (Supplementary Exercise of Registration). The state had 9.79 crore electors before the revision, while the draft electoral roll published on August 31 listed 7.72 crore names. However, enumeration forms could not be collected from 2.07 crore electors, resulting in their exclusion from the draft roll. The Election Commission has cautioned that the 2.07 crore figure does not represent the final number of deletions.

Electors whose names are absent from the draft roll can still request their inclusion during the claims and objections process. The reasons for missing enumeration forms include various scenarios such as electors being absent, not found at their addresses, having shifted residence, being deceased, or being enrolled elsewhere or multiple times. Other reasons for non-collection were also documented.

Further analysis by the state electoral office revealed that out of the 1.22 crore electors identified for the notice process, 62.48 lakh have discrepancies in their relatives' details in previous electoral rolls, while 59.76 lakh could not be linked to a relative in the earlier rolls. These two groups are distinct and account for approximately 3.29 crore electors whose cases necessitate additional action before the SIR process is finalized.

The notice generation process, however, pertains solely to the 1.22 crore electors determined by the electoral office.

On the ground, Pune had the highest number of pending notices as of September 24, with 1.29 lakh notices remaining to be issued, followed by Nagpur with 1.18 lakh notices. Yavatmal reported 33,732 pending notices, and Thane had 33,317. In contrast, notice generation was essentially completed in Mumbai City and Mumbai Suburban.

Under the revised timeline, electors now have until October 12 to submit their claims, suggestions, and objections. The notice and disposal process will continue until November 10. The final electoral roll, previously slated for publication on November 4, has not been affected by this extension.