CHENNAI: In a major relief for around 12 lakh unmapped voters in Tamil Nadu, the Election Commission said that they need not appear before the Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs), and can instead submit the prescribed form to the Booth Level Officers who will be available in ward offices.
During the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) enumeration, around 12 lakh voters did not mention their parents' voter details. These ‘unmapped’ voters’ names were included in the draft roll released last month, but received notices from Booth Level Officers (BLO) asking them to appear before the AEROs and fill the form in person.
However, few turned up for this, forcing the election officials to change it from AEROs to BLOs. "We were instructed to be present at ward offices during office hours so that unmapped voters can fill out forms with valid address proof documents and submit. This exercise will finish by February," said a BLO.
Meanwhile, sources told DT Next that BLOs are seeking the help of Booth Level Agents (BLAs), who are representatives of recognised political parties, in cases where the voters fail to submit the required details. In many such cases, the BLAs give an authorisation signature based on which the forms are collected.
"I have approved eight forms till now and submitted them without mentioning the 2002 SIR details. Using that approval, the BLO has accepted the forms," said a BLA. This could lead to a rise in the overall voter count when the final list is released, sources said.