Dang District Emerges as Digitization Leader in Gujarat's Voter List Cleanup
The Chief Electoral Officer of Gujarat, Hareet Shukla, announced on Wednesday that Dang district has taken the lead in the state's ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, achieving an impressive 85.53% digitization of enumeration forms. This significant milestone comes as the election office intensifies efforts to create more accurate voter lists across the state.
Statewide Distribution and Upcoming Counting Phase
According to the latest updates, the distribution of enumeration forms has been successfully completed in eight districts of Gujarat. The CEO office confirmed that their teams are working diligently to accelerate the process through continuous coordination with electoral officers at various levels.
The crucial counting phase of this extensive campaign is scheduled to begin on December 4, marking the next important step in the electoral roll revision process that aims to ensure the integrity of Gujarat's voting system.
Shocking Revelations from Preliminary Data Analysis
During preliminary examination of the existing voter records, election officials uncovered several concerning discrepancies that highlight the urgent need for this comprehensive revision.
Chief Electoral Officer Hareet Shukla revealed that more than 10 lakh deceased voters were still included in the voter lists across Gujarat. This startling discovery points to significant gaps in the maintenance of electoral records over previous years.
Additionally, the verification process identified over 1.5 lakh voters who were found absent from their registered addresses during field visits. Even more significantly, the data shows that more than 11 lakh voters have permanently migrated from their original constituencies.
Implications for Electoral Integrity
These findings underscore the critical importance of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision campaign. The presence of deceased, absent, and migrated voters on electoral rolls can potentially compromise the fairness of elections and affect the democratic process.
The high digitization rate achieved by Dang district sets a positive precedent for other districts to follow as the state works toward creating more accurate and reliable voter lists. The successful implementation of this revision could serve as a model for other states facing similar challenges with their electoral databases.
With the counting phase set to begin in early December, election officials remain focused on completing this massive cleanup operation efficiently while maintaining transparency throughout the process.
