Attention Odisha: New Voters Must Submit Parents’ SIR Details Too For Inclusion In Electoral Rolls

New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) is currently conducting phase 3 of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across 16 states and 3 Union Territories (UTs).

Among the states included in this phase are Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Sikkim, Tripura, Telangana and Uttarakhand. The UTs covered are National Capital Territory of Delhi, Chandigarh, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.

New applicants who are seeking inclusion in the electoral rolls in these states and UTs will now have to provide details of their parents’ status in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has made the declaration mandatory for online voter registration, officials said.

It has been added to Form 6, the statutory form which has to be filled by first-time voters, newly eligible citizens and deleted electors seeking fresh enrolment, reported India Today.

ECI officials said the declaration has been introduced through administrative instructions is now mandatory for online submissions, though the form has not been formally amended through a gazette notification.

The new declaration for new voters, inserted between Parts J and K of the online Form 6, asks applicants to choose from three options — whether their own name existed in the previous SIR electoral roll, whether the name of a parent or grandparent existed in the previous SIR roll, or whether neither the applicant nor their parents figured in the earlier roll.

If applicants select either of the first two options, they will be required to provide details of Assembly constituency, polling booth number and serial number under the previous SIR.

The portal, however, does not specify the implications of choosing the third option.