The district election authorities in Surat have officially released the draft voter list, marking a crucial step in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. The draft roll, published on Friday, contains the names of a substantial 36,23,193 electors.
Surat's Voter Roll Breakdown and Mapping Challenge
Following an extensive house-to-house survey conducted by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) between November 4 and December 14, the authorities successfully mapped 25,05,311 voters. However, a significant number of 11,17,882 voters remain unmapped and are not included in the current draft. The gender-wise distribution of the listed voters shows 18.78 lakh male voters, 17.44 lakh female voters, and 100 third-gender voters.
District Collector Sourabh Pardhi informed that the process of serving notices to these 11.17 lakh unmapped voters will commence shortly. Each Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) has been tasked with issuing 50 notices per day. This systematic outreach is expected to continue for about a month, paving the way for the publication of the final electoral roll in February.
Path for New Voters and Unmapped Electors
With the draft list now public, the district election office has opened the window for new voter registrations. Eligible citizens who have not submitted or received enumeration forms can still apply using Form 6 along with the requisite documents to get their names on the final list.
The election machinery has appointed 850 Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) to manage the task of contacting the unmapped voters. These voters fall into three distinct categories and will need to provide specific documents based on their year of birth to ensure their inclusion. Officials clarified that a separate group of 12.50 lakh voters did not return their enumeration forms during the SIR drive and consequently do not feature on the draft list.
How to Verify Your Voter Details
Residents of Surat can check their enrollment status on the draft roll through multiple online portals. The list is available for public scrutiny on the official websites of the Election Commission of India (ECI), the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Gujarat, and the district's own portal, Surat.nic.in. This transparency allows voters to confirm their details and take corrective action if necessary before the final list is locked.
