20 lakh voters enrolled in Maharashtra: Election Commission

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission has enrolled more than 20 lakh voters in Maharashtra in an elaborate drive to facilitate participation of citizens in the poll process, after reports said that names of thousands of electors were deleted from the voters' list.

The poll panel took serious note of the reports during the Lok Sabha elections about the deletion of names and extensive measures to maximise voter registration in the state.

"...after taking note of news reports that some names were missing from voter lists in Mumbai and Pune during the recent Lok Sabha elections, the Commission has taken extensive measures to enroll citizens of the state," the Election Commission said here in a statement.

In an unprecedented move, the Commission sent over 26 lakhs letters along with enrollment forms to all such persons whose names were deleted in Mumbai, Thane and Pune.

"4.5 lakh of these speed posts were delivered and the rest have returned undelivered as the address was incorrect or the addressee had left," the panel said.

As a result of such massive efforts, around 20.3 lakh electors were enrolled during the Special Summary Revision in Maharashtra, including 1.94 lakh in Mumbai and 2.66 lakh in Pune, it said.

"Out of these, only 16,614 cases in Mumbai and 27,542 cases in Pune relate to those whose names were deleted earlier," it said.

The final roll has been put up on the website of Chief Electoral Officers and Returning Officers, it said.

Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana are likely to be held in October.

The Election Commission said it took up a series of proactive measures to reach out to citizens under its flagship programme for Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation.

"In case any eligible citizen is still not enrolled they can include their name up to ten days before the last date of nomination of candidates for the forthcoming state elections," the Commission said.