Punjab clears 99% of SIR logical discrepancy cases ahead of final electoral rolls

With 15 days left for Punjab's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise to conclude, election authorities have cleared nearly 99% of the 22.69 lakh electors whose enumeration forms were flagged for “logical discrepancies”, paving the way for their inclusion in the state's final electoral rolls.

Of the 22.69 lakh electors identified by the Election Commission of India (ECI) algorithm, discrepancies in the records of 22.41 lakh, or 98.77%, have been resolved, according to the latest official figures. The final electoral rolls are scheduled to be published on October 12.

The flagged electors account for about 12% of the 1.94 crore electors included in Punjab's draft electoral rolls. They were identified for one or more anomalies in their electoral records, including mismatches in names or ages, following which notices were issued and supporting documents sought.

Punjab's Chief Electoral Officer Anindita Mitra said only a small number of logical discrepancy cases remained pending.

“These will also be decided over the next week or so,” she said.

Electoral staff have until October 8 to decide the remaining 27,700-odd cases, based on documents submitted by voters, hearings or undertakings provided by booth-level officers.

What triggered the logical discrepancy notices

The discrepancies identified during the exercise include several anomalies involving family relationships and age differences. These include more than six electors being linked to the same parent, an age gap of less than nine months between two siblings, a parent-child age gap of less than 15 years or more than 50 years, and a grandparent-grandchild age gap of less than 40 years.

The ECI's software also flagged mismatches in the names, ages or parents' names recorded in the current enumeration forms and the 2003 SIR rolls.

All electors identified with such anomalies were issued notices and asked to provide supporting documents to enable corrections to their records.

Punjab's SIR process follows the door-to-door enumeration exercise, during which forms covering nearly 1.94 crore voters were digitised. The enumeration phase was completed in early August, with the state reporting that 90.37% of its total electors had submitted forms. The exercise also involved rationalisation of polling stations, resulting in 879 additional booths and taking the state's total to 25,332 from 24,453.

The notice phase is scheduled to continue until October 8. Under the process, voters receiving notices can submit the required documents and appear for hearings before decisions are taken on their records.

Five constituencies still have over 1,000 pending cases

The disposal of logical discrepancy cases has been completed in several Assembly constituencies. Booth-level officers in Tarn Taran, Maur, Mansa, Samana and Shutrana have cleared all such cases.

Another 10 constituencies, including Banga, Sardulgarh, Barnala, Zira, Sangrur, Khem Karan, Dirba and Jalalabad, have only single-digit numbers of cases awaiting decisions.

However, five Assembly constituencies had more than 1,000 pending logical discrepancy cases as of Tuesday.

Amritsar Central had the highest number, with 2,538 cases still pending. It was followed by Ludhiana North with 2,097, Ludhiana Central with 2,056, Ferozepur City with 1,401 and Ludhiana West with 1,318.

The issue of logical discrepancies has attracted attention in other states as well. In Delhi, several prominent individuals, including politicians, former bureaucrats and entrepreneurs, were issued SIR notices over discrepancies in their electoral records.

There had also been apprehension in Punjab when the electoral roll-cleaning exercise began. However, the state election machinery has said the process has proceeded smoothly and is now nearing completion.

Earlier, Punjab officials had also clarified that voters who were not mapped during the SIR process should not assume that their names had been deleted. The administration said eligible voters would continue to have an opportunity to establish their eligibility through the prescribed process.

The final electoral rolls for Punjab are scheduled to be published on October 12.