The verification phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls ended on Monday amid a frantic last-minute rush by voters and growing concerns over the fate of more than 14 lakh electors whose Enumeration Forms (EFs) could not be collected during the verification exercise. Data released by the District Election Office at 3 pm on August 17 showed that only 31,88,930 of Nagpur district's 46,38,589 voters had their Enumeration Forms digitised, translating into a digitisation rate of 68.75 per cent.

 

 

As many as 14,26,106 voters (30.74 per cent) were categorised as ‘uncollectible’, while 23,553 forms were yet to be digitised. The figures reveal a sharp urban-rural divide. While rural constituencies recorded an average digitisation rate of 76.20 per cent, urban constituencies lagged significantly at 62.08 per cent. Umred emerged as the best-performing constituency with 84.20 per cent digitisation, followed by Katol (82.54 per cent) and Ramtek (80.87 per cent). Nagpur West recorded the lowest digitisation rate at 59.43 per cent, followed by Nagpur Central (61.88 per cent) and Nagpur South (62 per cent). Notably, five constituencies including Saoner, Umred, Ramtek, Nagpur East and Nagpur South-West achieved 100 per cent completion of the verification process through a combination of digitised and uncollectable voters. The Election Commission had extended the deadline twice, first to August 8 and later to August 17, while displaying lists of uncollectable voters and organising weekend camps to maximise coverage. With field verification now over, the draft electoral roll will be published on August 24. Citizens whose names are missing, wrongly entered or proposed for deletion will be able to file claims and objections between August 24 and September 23 before the Electoral Registration Officer. The final electoral roll will be published on October 27. 

 

 

 

Several voters alleged that Booth Level Officers (BLOs) refused to accept Enumeration Forms on the final day, claiming they had already submitted their records to election authorities and could not receive additional forms. Some BLOs reportedly told voters that they had been instructed through official communication channels to submit forms before the deadline and faced strict action if targets were not met. The situation left many electors uncertain whether their forms would be considered, despite reaching out before the closure of the exercise. The confusion has heightened anxiety among voters, particularly those whose names appear on the uncollectable list, as attention now shifts to the publication of the draft electoral rolls next week. In Besa-Pipala Nagar Panchayat, the BLOs asked the voters that they have already submitted their forms and refused to entertain the voters. They also showed the Whatsapp group of the Nagar Panchayat in which Chief Officer directed the BLOs to finish the submission of Enumeration forms earliest and warned some of the BLOs that they would be paraded before the District Collector.