Election Commission of India directives specify that voters whose photos are not included on electoral rolls must be taken off the list. In Palamau alone, this number would exceed 20,000.
Ironically, while 29,000 new voters were added to the rosters this year, as these youngsters became eligible to exercise their franchise, 20,833 names face deletion. The responsibility for this fiasco is expectedly being tossed about.
A booth level official was supposed to collect the photographs door-to-door but people said he never turned up. Palamau Deputy Commissioner Manoj Kumar has called for a re-verification to give people another chance to submit photographs. The DC pointed out to The Pioneer that it was first essential to avoid this deletion and that blame could be fixed later.
Kumar said he has roped in 10 political parties in Palamau to assist and coordinate with booth-level officials and track down these 20,883 voters. The initial photo collection was in May, but it seems officials were not diligent enough at the time. Notably, the Palamau administration has merely readied the proposal for deletion of names in the event none come forward to submit photos. It cannot suo motu delete name from the electoral roll unless asked by the Election Commission.