Maharashtra, Delhi Among 7 States Asked to Give Excluded Voters Another Chance

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has directed the Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of seven states and Union Territories to provide another opportunity to voters whose names were excluded from the draft electoral rolls under the categories of 'Absent, Shifted, Dead or Duplicate'.

The states and Union Territory covered by the directive include Delhi, Maharashtra, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Telangana and Nagaland.

The Commission has instructed the respective electoral authorities to ensure that electors whose names were removed under these categories get another chance to establish their eligibility and seek inclusion in the final electoral rolls.

The move is aimed at ensuring that no eligible voter is deprived of the opportunity to be included in the final electoral list due to errors or discrepancies during the verification process.

The ECI has also asked the officials to establish an appropriate monitoring mechanism to oversee the exercise and ensure that all eligible electors receive the opportunity to have their names included.

At the same time, the Commission has emphasised the need to prevent duplicate enrolments while undertaking the exercise, maintaining the accuracy and integrity of the electoral rolls.