DM will also take action on voter list irregularities in UP, Election Commission warns
Lucknow. The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer has taken a big step to ensure the accuracy of the voter list and transparency in election related work in Uttar Pradesh. State Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa has issued strict instructions to all the District Election Officers (DEOs) making it clear that if mistakes are found in the voter list, unnecessary delay in disposal of applications and negligence in monitoring, their accountability will be fixed. If necessary, action can also be taken against the concerned officials.
On Friday, October 30, the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer shared detailed instructions in Hindi on the social media platform ‘X’. The office said that accurate, error-free and updated voter lists are the cornerstone of the democratic process. Therefore, it is necessary to complete every task related to voter list seriously and within the stipulated time frame.
The Chief Electoral Officer has also clarified that the work related to voter list is not the responsibility of subordinate officers alone. The District Election Officer will have to monitor the entire process in his district.
DM will also be responsible if there is a mistake in the voter list
Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa has clarified the responsibilities of the officers by citing Section 13AA (13AA) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, Electoral Registration Rules, 1960 and the guidelines of the Election Commission of India.
As per the instructions, District Election Officers will be responsible for coordination, supervision, monitoring and quality control of all work related to voter list in their district.
This means that if serious mistakes are found in the voter list in a district or applications are not disposed of in time, the responsibility cannot be placed solely on the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) or supporting officers.
The monitoring role of the District Election Officer will also be reviewed.
However, action against an officer will be decided based on the circumstances of the case and available facts.
It will be mandatory to login to ECI-Net every day
The Chief Electoral Officer has instructed all the District Election Officers to login to the ECI-Net platform daily.
They have to regularly review the work related to voter list through their prescribed login.
During this period, the status of pending applications, activation of officers, mistakes in voter list and resolution of complaints will be monitored.
If applications are found unnecessarily pending in any district, logins of officials remain inactive or their profiles are found incomplete, a response may be sought from the concerned District Election Officer.
The objective of the Electoral Office is to ensure that the work related to voter list is not only completed formally, but its quality is also maintained.
Special monitoring on Form-6, 6A, 7 and 8
The Election Office has given instructions to increase monitoring of four major application forms related to the voter list.
Form-6 is used to register as a new voter.
Form-6A pertains to voter registration of eligible Indian citizens residing abroad.
Form-7 is used for objection to inclusion of a name in the voter list or for application for deletion of name.
At the same time, through Form-8, voters can apply for correction in their details, change of residence and prescribed changes related to voter identity card.
The Chief Electoral Officer has clarified that these forms should be disposed of as per the prescribed procedure and deadline.
Applications sent to the wrong officer will be transferred immediately.
As per the instructions, if an application has been sent to the wrong Electoral Registration Officer or Assistant Electoral Registration Officer, it should be immediately transferred to the correct officer.
Apart from this, if an application related to any other district is received, it will have to be sent to the election officer of the concerned district without any delay.
Instructions have been given to hand over the applications which have not been allotted to any officer till now, to the concerned officer immediately.
The Election Office has said that applications should not be pending unnecessarily at any level.
Profile of BLO and other officers will be checked
District election officers have also been instructed to verify the digital profiles of subordinate officers and employees.
Under this, the correctness of name, mobile number, designation and photo recorded in the profiles of Sub District Election Officer, ERO, AERO, BLO Supervisor and Booth Level Officers will be checked.
Besides, the status of last login of these officers will also be seen daily.
The Election Office has given clear instructions that no officer will share his user ID, password or OTP with any other person.
The objective of this arrangement is to ensure security and accountability in election related digital operations.
BLO will have to contact the voter within 48 hours
The Chief Electoral Officer has also given important instructions regarding the ‘Book a Call with BLO’ facility available to the voters.
This facility is available on the ECI-Net app and the Citizen Services Portal of the Election Commission.
As per the instructions, the call request made by the citizen should not remain pending for more than 48 hours.
If a booth level officer does not contact within the stipulated time, action can be taken against him.
Moreover, without actual contact that