Info on 1.8 crore voters 'uncollectable' in Maharashtra: CEO

Information on more than 1.8 crore voters in Maharashtra, or 18.46 per cent of the total electorate, remained "uncollectable" while 77.77 per cent of electors had been digitised so far under the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, state Chief Electoral Officer S Chockalingam said Wednesday.

"The data shows that information of 7,60,98,153 voters, or 77.77 per cent, had been digitised, while 9,69,54,766 electors, or 99.08 per cent, had been covered for distribution. Information of 1,80,60,697 voters, or 18.46 per cent of the state's 9,78,54,049 electors, could not be collected," Chockalingam told reporters.

Mumbai reported a significantly higher share of uncollectable data, with information on 30,81,495 voters, or 29.61 per cent, categorised as such, while the figure stood at 21,41,596, or 27.35 per cent, in Mumbai Suburban, according to the data. Pune recorded 27,07,496 uncollectable voters and Thane 19,16,790, the data showed.

Absent, shifted, dead or duplicate voters are the four major reasons for categorising information as uncollectable, Chockalingam said. "Uncollectable" data includes voters who are not available at their registered addresses and whose details may consequently not be reflected in the electoral roll, he said, adding that the exercise also involved identifying absent voters, those who have shifted or died, as well as duplicate entries.

"We have held meetings with political parties to make corrections and changes. The electoral roll is changing every day as the process is ongoing," Chockalingam said.

He said digitisation and mapping of electoral data remained ongoing processes, with information relating to around four per cent of voters still being processed. The data collected so far accounts for around 96.1 per cent of the electorate in Maharashtra, he said.

Digitisation of enumerated forms stood at 63 per cent in Mumbai to date, with information on around 30 per cent of voters categorised as uncollectable, the CEO said. The remaining seven per cent of the data in the state capital is yet to be finalised, he said, urging political parties to assist citizens in the process and help ensure necessary corrections and changes are made.

Chockalingam said neighbouring Thane faces a problem of "uncollectable" voters similar to Mumbai's because most of its voters commute to Mumbai daily. He also cited a large immigrant population as a reason voters are not available at their given addresses.

He appealed to voters to file enumeration forms at the earliest, ahead of the August 17 deadline. "After August 17, we will announce the draft list of voters which can be rectified as well," he said.