​Juggernaut rolls on, Pg6

Key Highlights:

• The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced a third phase of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, covering 16 States and 3 Union Territories.
• This phase involves a combined electorate of 36.73 crore people.
• Phase 2 of the SIR saw a significant net reduction of 10.2% in electoral rolls.
• Concerns exist regarding potential disenfranchisement, especially after mass deletions in states like West Bengal.

Detailed Insights:

• The SIR process has been criticized for relying on faulty software, arbitrary criteria, and methodological flaws, leading to disproportionate removal of electors from marginalized communities.
• Centralization of data processing in New Delhi, instead of empowering Electoral Registration Officers at the state level, has further exacerbated the problem.
• Booth rationalization conducted alongside enumeration obscured the scale of deletions and made it difficult for electors to verify their inclusion.
• The enumeration process places the burden on electors to prove eligibility, rather than on ECI officials to ensure inclusion, raising concerns about universal adult franchise.
• Data from previous phases show gender-ratio drops in the electorate across many states and mismatches with officially estimated elector-population ratios.
• The Supreme Court is providing managerial supervision, but underlying legal questions regarding the Representation of the People Act remain unresolved.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Special Intensive Revision (SIR): An initiative by the ECI to revise and update electoral rolls.
• Universal Adult Franchise: The right of all adult citizens to vote, regardless of their background.
• Electoral Registration Officer: An official responsible for preparing and maintaining electoral rolls in a specific area.