2002 base yr for intensive revision of state poll roll
Election Commission of India
initiates Bihar-like checks in the state, chief electoral officer S Chockalingam told TOI.
He said the last intensive revision was conducted in 2002, which will serve as the basis for the upcoming revision in Maharashtra. The assembly constituency-wise data from 2002 has been forwarded to the EC.
The officer explained that in Bihar, the last intensive revision took place in 2003, and that year has been selected as the cut-off for the current special intensive revision ahead of assembly elections.
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Chockalingam said, "The intensive review is held periodically after 20-25 years.
In Maharashtra, it was last done in 2002. Hence, the electoral roll of 2002 will be the basis of the future intensive revision. The timeline and schedule will be decided by the EC."
Officials from the election office told TOI that the intensive revision will help eliminate fake names from the roll.
Shashikant Mangrule, the deputy district election officer of Nashik, said master trainers for booth-level officers have been trained for the intensive revision and are now training BLOs locally.
Chockalingam added that BLOs must visit every home to verify each voter on the current electoral roll during the intensive revision.
The exercise is managed through a mobile application provided by the EC.
"Every voter has to be verified. The task is huge and time-consuming. Voters whose names were in the last intensive revision in 2002 in Maharashtra are only required to personally sign a form. However, people whose names were added later have to provide proof of residence and citizenship to the BLOs during the exercise aimed at removing voters who have died or permanently shifted," the officer said.
Chockalingam said training for BLOs was on and included familiarisation with all types of revisions, including summary and intensive revisions.
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