Deadline 4 days away, nearly 28L Pune voters untraced

Pune: At least 27.83 lakh Pune district voters are in the absent, shifted, dead, duplicate and others category in the SIR, accounting for 30% of the 90.80 lakh electorate. Untraced voters in SIR exercises in the country have been between 13% and 20%, while Maharashtra’s figure is around 18%.Opposition leaders and civic activists said the large number of flagged data and uncollected forms leaves little time to verify voter details and rectify errors before the draft electoral roll is published. They have sought an extension to the SIR.The district administration uploaded the constituency-wise absent, shifted, dead, duplicate and others (ASDDO) data on its website this week, prompting activists to question whether voters would get sufficient time to check their status and approach officials if their records have been wrongly categorised.The ASDDO category identifies records requiring verification during the SIR exercise. It does not mean a voter’s name will be deleted.The concern is high in urban constituencies. Hadapsar has three lakh such electors, followed by Khadakwasla with 2.69 lakh, Chinchwad with 2.62 lakh, Wadgaon Sheri with 2.12 lakh and Kothrud with 1.97 lakh.The latest SIR status published by Pune District Election Authority, shows the proportion of uncollectible forms is around 40% in several constituencies, despite the exercise entering its final days.“BLOs were supposed to visit voters’ residences three times to physically verify whether they lived at the address in the electoral roll, distribute the enumeration forms and collect it after it was filled. If the house was locked, the BLO was required to leave a note asking the voter to contact the BLO,” Ramesh Iyer, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee member and chief coordinator of SIR for Pune City District Congress Committee, said. Other opposition leaders have sought a two-month extension, so that eligible voters are not left out.A BLO has to maintain a record of forms distributed and collected. “If 40% forms remain uncollectable with only four days left, it is alarming. The district election authority should ascertain why voters have not returned the forms and take corrective measures. Considering the high percentage, an extension is necessary,” Iyer said.“Digitisation and the large ASDDO pool are now key challenges, particularly in constituencies where the proportion of voters in the uncollectable category is above 40%,” an activist said.Large Uncollectable Pool A ConcernAround 89.98 lakh forms distributed, covering 99% electorsData of 60.6 lakh voters or 66.8% achievedBut the gap between distribution and digitisation is more than 30 percentage pointsHadapsar I 46.4%Shivajinagar I 45.7%Khadakwasla I 45%Kothrud I 44%Parvati I 42.1%Wadgaon Sheri I 40.8%Pune Cantonment I 40%Kasba Peth I 28.4%Bhosari I 25.3%Pimpri I 41%Chinchwad I 38.1%Rural constituencies like Baramati have the lowest ASDDO voters at 10%, followed by Indapur at 12.5% and Ambegaon at 13%Officials said details of ASDDO voters must be uploaded on district websites so that they can check their records