Voter card not enough to vote, name should be on electoral rolls: Delhi CEO

Having a valid voter ID card won't let you exercise your franchise in Delhi. Your name has to be in the electoral rolls to ensure that you can vote, Ranbir Singh, Chief Electoral officer of Delhi, said in an exclusive interview with IANS.

He said the office of the Delhi Chief Electoral officer has taken a series of steps to ensure free and fair elections in the state. He said this time anybody whose name is not in the voters' list will have to be turned away from the polling booth even though he or she may be in possession of a valid voter ID card.

Ranbir Singh said, "The work of summary revision of voter ID cards, which began on November 15, 2019, was completed by December 16, 2019. We are working on war footing to publish the electoral rolls by January 6, 2020. Fresh names may be added even after that so that nobody is deprived of his/her right to exercise franchise."

The office of the CEO has also launched 'cVIGIL ', a programme which allows citizens to keep vigil on the election process and report if model code of conduct is violated. The programme emphasises the proactive and responsible role citizens can play in the conduct of free and fair elections, the CEO said.

There are as many as 1,46,92,136 voters in Delhi this time who can exercise their franchise. Howeve, only those voters will be allowed to vote whose names figure in the electoral rolls.

"We are also advertising to make people aware of their right to vote. We want maximum participation in the electoral process. We have hired icons like cricketer Rishabh Pant and table tennis player Manika Batra for this purpose. Our focus is on holding free and fair elections," Singh said.

The verification and authentication of electoral rolls was completed in September only. 91-92 per cent names were found to be correct. Rest 8-9 per cent voters are either dead or have moved to other locations, the CEO said.

"Our officers are reaching to all nooks and corners of Delhi to make the first time voters aware about the functioning of EVMs," the Delhi CEO said.