CHENNAI: As if the whole exercise was not cumbersome enough, many voters in Chennai are left shocked and confused after receiving notices from Booth Level Officers (BLOs) stating that their names are “unmapped” in the electoral roll, though their names are listed in the draft roll published on December 19.
According to the Election Commission of India, 2,37,619 voters in Chennai have been categorised as “unmapped”, as their current details could not be linked to information collected during the 2002 Special Intensive Revision. Distribution of the “no mapping” forms began across the city on Sunday. However, several constituencies reported delays due to a shortage of physical forms.
The BLOs in Chepauk-Triplicane, Egmore, Saidapet, T Nagar, and Thiru Vi Ka Nagar said many residents questioned why they must fill out forms again, as their names are appearing in the draft roll.
“My husband and I submitted the same details, but since he gave a physical form and I used the online portal, only I have been marked unmapped. I was shocked when the BLO came with the form,” said N Anitha of Choolaimedu High Road.
In Chintadripet, Prema said she and her siblings received the forms and were asked to provide Aadhaar, ration card and gas bill copies. “I think this is another SIR form to confirm my voting rights,” she said.
A BLO in Thiru Vi Ka Nagar said 34 unmapped voters were flagged in his area, and forms were collected and uploaded, with voters advised to visit designated polling stations from January 1 to 4. Meanwhile, BLOs in Egmore and T Nagar said they were waiting for the forms to arrive.
Another BLO in Saidapet said that out of 23 unmapped voters in his area, only 12 forms were distributed so far, as many residents were out of station. He attributed the issue to errors made during the upload of enumeration details by inexperienced data entry operators.
Statewide, the ECI has identified 12.43 lakh unmapped voters. Chennai tops the list with 2.37 lakh, followed by neighbouring Tiruvallur with 1.85 lakh. Coimbatore ranks third with 1.10 lakh unmapped voters. Dharmapuri has the lowest number at 2,852, following Perambalur (4,493) and Nagapattinam (4,561).