ELECTORAL ROLL: 16,000 voters yet to submit photos

GUWAHATI: Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Assam, Nitin Khade has urged the citizens to check their details in the draft photo-electoral roll; and submit their photographs at the earliest if their names are lacking their respective photographs. This thrust is being given as based on the final photo-electoral roll, the forthcoming Assembly elections will be conducted this year.

Meanwhile, State Election Department sources informed that 1.46 lakh electorates did not have photos against their names in the electoral roll in the first part of November 2020. However, following drives undertaken among the public by the District Election Officers (DEOs), the Booth Level Officers (BLOs), and the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), as many as 1,30,000 photos have been collected so far. As many as 16,000 voters have not submitted their photos till date.

Department sources informed that among the districts in Assam, the highest number of 6,600 electorates in Kamrup (Metro) have not submitted their photos. Mentionably, there are four LACs (Legislative Assembly Constituencies) in Kamrup (M), viz., Dispur, Gauhati (East), Gauhati (West), and Jalukbari.

Talking to The Sentinel, Kamrup (M) District Election Officer JharnaPatgiri said, "As on November 2020, around 17,000 voters in the district did not have their photos against their names in the electoral roll. However, as many as 10,400 submitted their photos after the public-awareness drives were carried out by the district administration. As on date, around 6,600 names do not have their respective photos. They will have to submit their photos at the earliest."

It has been learnt that there are also possibilities of such names (not having photos) getting deleted from the electoral roll.

The draft photo-electoral roll was published on November 18, 2020. According to this draft roll, there are 2,24,39,522 electorates in Assam. Of them, 1,14,25,748 are males and 1,10,13,774 are females.

The final photo electoral roll will be published on January 15.

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