Most voters who received notices during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Maharashtra have been added back to the electoral rolls.
The electoral rolls are the official lists of voters.
Official figures show that 99.41% of the 12.24 million voters, about 1.22 crore people, have been re-admitted.
The SIR is a special drive to check and update voter lists. It is still going on in Maharashtra. It began in June.
Why were these voters flagged? About 6.25 million were marked for errors in their names, age or address.
Another 5.98 million could not be matched to the 2002 voter records.
Graphic: News Anek, from the facts in this report
Those voters have been asked to submit documents to prove their nationality.
Key points
- 99.41% of voters who got notices in Maharashtra have been re-admitted to the rolls.
- About 72,601 voters are still left out, as they have not submitted documents or their papers are under scrutiny.
- The last day to submit documents is November 23.
- The Election Commission relaxed the rules after nationwide protests.
Why did so many voters get back on the list?
The Election Commission of India (ECI) relaxed the guidelines for the SIR.
This came after a controversy over how decisions were being taken, which led to protests across the country.
Under the new rules, personal hearings with booth level officers (BLOs) were scrapped.
Voters could also submit documents on WhatsApp.
The list of accepted documents was widened from the original 12.
Voters can now submit their PAN and Aadhaar details, which were earlier not allowed.
BLOs were also told to take a lenient approach.
What is still pending for voters?
About 72,601 voters are still out of the rolls.
They have either not submitted documents, or their documents are under review.
An official from the state chief electoral officer's office said the last day for submission and verification is November 23.
The official expects a few more voters to be added back.
Between August 31 and November 12, the poll body received 2.36 million forms.
These include 1.51 million Form 6 applications, which are used to add a name to the rolls.
The SIR is still underway, and a plea against the deletions in Maharashtra is before the Supreme Court.
Explainer
What happened before
- The Special Intensive Revision of voter lists began in Maharashtra in June.
- The Election Commission relaxed its rules after controversy and nationwide protests.
Why it matters
Voters who do not submit documents, or whose papers are under scrutiny, stay off the rolls for now.
What to watch next
- The last day to submit and verify documents is November 23.
- A plea against the SIR deletions in Maharashtra is before the Supreme Court, which has issued a notice to the Election Commission.
