Sir,

This has reference to the report in SOM dated Oct.19 announcing the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) decision to extend the date for Electors Verification Programme (EVP), upto November 18. After going through the said process upto the earlier last date namely, October 15, following questions arising out of my experience need definite answers:

1. When public announcement was made on the streets regarding door-to-door visit, no particular time schedule was made. This led to believe that the exercise is not seriously undertaken. How long should any one wait? Will the ECI please clarify? Zonal Office reply for this query is that they do not intend to cover 100 percent of the city’s households because of human resource issue. Then it is clear that they are not serious about this exercise.
2. Residents in some areas only received a handbill on the documents to be kept ready for the visit. Even in this, it is not clear whether every one eligible to vote and already having their name in the list should also give the documents. If the visiting team has a voters list and any one finds his/her name deleted without a valid reason, what should be done? Who is the authority to reinstate the name if the name is removed by the mistake of the staff?
3. What happens to the name already existing in the voters list if during the visit of the verification team the person has temporarily moved away from the stated address and has not taken any action anywhere else? Will there be a communication sent before any deletion?
4. Not all can verify their names on the website www.nvsp.in. Incidentally, this website is malfunctioning and does not work efficiently wasting a lot of time. After loading upto 97 percent, it crashed in my case, not just once but several times. Those who have no means to verify on the website are advised to go to Taluk Office/Zonal Office/Booth-Level Officer (BLO) who is expected to be available at the Polling Booth Office. Rarely a BLO is seen at this place, it is my own experience.
5. The visiting team as well as staff at the Zonal Office are asking for Aadhaar card even when an existing EPIC (Elector’s Photo Identity Card) copy is given. When asked why the Aadhaar, it is told that it is to link EPIC with Aadhaar. ECI should clarify if this is correct. Has ECI agreed to link EPIC with Aadhaar?
6. Finally, what assurance and by whom can one expect that after all the struggle to get the name included in the voters list, the name is not deleted without any warning, just prior to voting?

I am raising this issue out of my frustrated and failed effort to get my deleted name (my wife’s name at the same address was intact) reinstated during the just conducted LS polls. After pursuing the matter at the Zonal and DC level, I discovered that my name was very much in place in the bound book of voters list along with that of my wife in the Zonal Office. But, the loose sheets of voters list made out from this book and sent to the Polling Station a few days before election-day, had my name stamped DELETED. I had not submitted any application for deletion and the officers could not explain as to how the automatic deletion happens.

How frequently should one verify the voters list when any election is announced? Is there a quick remedy for unwanted deletion after the voter list is finalised just before election?

– B.S. Shankara (Retd English Professor), Mysuru, 20.10.2019

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