Sudden Rush for Enrolment in Electoral Rolls: What’s behind such a spurt?

Sudden rush for enrolment in electoral rolls

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Aug 28: An unusual development that piques the curiosity of the State Election Commission (SEC) is that of late a section of people has been trying hard to get their names enrolled in the Electoral Rolls even as NRC update in the State is underway. Yet another section in the State claims that they are not doubtful voters but the tag ‘D’ continues to hang like a cloud over their names. They are also trying hard to get the tag ‘D’ removed from their names.

According to sources in the Assam SEC, in the past one month, it has received around 100 applications seeking enrolment of their names in the electoral rolls. The applicants also include some voters tagged as ‘D’ voters in the electoral roll. They claim that they are not doubtful voters but the tag ‘D’ is hanging over their names. They want the tag ‘D’ be immediately removed from their names in the electoral roll. The SEC is curious to know as to why there has been such a spurt in the number of applications for enrolment in the electoral roll. What saddens the SEC is that enrolling a voter’s name in the electoral roll does not come within its jurisdiction.

Talking to The Sentinel, State Election Commissioner (SEC) HN Bora said: “We’ve received many applications for enrolment in the electoral roll in the past one month. Some of the applicants claim that they are not doubtful voters but the tag ‘D’ continues to hang over their names. They’ve sought immediate removal of the tag ‘D’ from their names in the electoral roll. The sad part of the development is that enrolling voters’ names in the electoral roll doesn’t come under our jurisdiction. If the applicants have anything to say in that regard, they can directly contract the Election Commission of India (ECI) which is the sole authority for the purpose. They can also approach district election officers for that matter.”

The moot point remains that what could be the reason behind such a sudden spurt in the number of applications for enrolment in the voters' list, that too knocking on the wrong door? This development bears significance as it has happened at a time when the complete draft NRC has already been published, excluding 40.07 lakh applicants from it.