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Saturday, Jun 04, 2005

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The difficult task of electoral rolls revision

V. Jayanth

The Election Commission is keen on fighting this kind of "stuffing" too.

THOUGH THE extent of last-minute "stuffing" may have shocked the electoral officers, the Election Department in Tamil Nadu was expecting it. Political parties, voluntary organisations and individuals were given three weeks — from May 10 to May 31 — to file applications for inclusion of names in the electoral rolls. They could either submit Form-6 for the inclusion of new names, or Form-8 to make corrections in the existing rolls. And this, the people, more so the political parties, seem to have done with a vengeance. This was particularly true of the last day, May 30, when some of the field level officers were flooded with bulk applications, mainly from political parties. In some constituencies, the forms were reportedly filed till 9.30 p.m. or even 10 p.m., though the deadline ended in the evening.

The net result is that the Chief Electoral Officer's (CEO) establishment in Chennai is now saddled with the humungous task of verifying all these applications. Up to 4 per cent additions are "acceptable," but in many constituencies it was over 6 per cent and in five it crossed the 10 per cent level, which is "abnormal and acceptable" according to Election Commission (EC) norms.

As a first step, Chief Electoral Officer Naresh Gupta has asked the Electoral Officers not to proceed with the normal method of verification in which the field staff of the district administration — basically the Revenue officers and staff — will take up the job. Instead, all these applications will be handed over to the District Collectorate, which can initiate the verification process on computers, using special software. This process can identify instantly names that figure either in the `999' list or in the electoral rolls of a neighbouring constituency. That will be one process of elimination. Simultaneously, the CEO has sent a detailed report to the E.C. seeking its guidance and directions on the issue. It is likely that the E.C. may depute a special team to study the nature and gravity of the problem before deciding on an appropriate response.

Preliminary analyses by officials from the Election Department in Chennai have revealed that many of these last-minute applications have either not been signed or do not carry the addresses of the applicants. This can itself bear testimony to the fact that one or the other of the major political parties has filed the bulk applications on behalf of individuals, seeking to include names which do not figure in the existing rolls.

The special teams from the Election Department have reported back to the CEO, who in turn has briefed the E.C. about the ground situation. It is now up to the E.C. to send its team, make a spot study and provide a solution.

It is possible that a majority of these bulk applications may be filed on behalf of those in the `999' category. This is a special category of voters who were not at home during the verification visit, or in whose case there are discrepancies in house number, or other details are lacking. The parties may want to "regularise" them in this exercise.

A question arises as to why there should be such a rush in the eleventh hour to file applications. Officials familiar with the rolls revision exercise say this is a new trend in the State.

A senior official who was involved in the rolls revision process in Chennai earlier explains: "We had two kinds of problems in the past three years. The first was of large-scale deletion of voters from the rolls and the second was the inclusion of bogus names in their place. Vaniyambadi and Saidapet, where byelections were held in 2003, are considered to be landmarks in this trend. Elections have not been the same again and the E.C. is determined to fight this tendency in many States."

There is a dilemma that the E.C. faces. Having offered a three-week window for people to apply, all these applications cannot be rejected outright. There can be genuine applications among them. But the Commission has also the responsibility to ensure that "stuffing" does not take place. E.C. sources describe these bulk applications as the "latest version of stuffing," because there are no more ballot papers and booth capturing has become difficult after the introduction of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).

Which is why the electoral rolls acquire particular significance for the political parties. It is the basis on which elections are fought and won. If a political party can manage to get all its supporters enrolled in time, it begins the electoral battle with an advantage. And that is precisely what the two main political rivals now want to do in Tamil Nadu, in preparation for the Assembly elections in 2006.

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