Congress demands digitally identifiable voter list, Aadhaar Card inclusion in ID verification

Bhopal, Oct 28 (IANS) The Congress party has called for the implementation of digitally readable voter lists and mandatory Aadhaar card verification, following the Election Commission of India's announcement of a Special Intensive Revision campaign aimed at overhauling Madhya Pradesh's electoral rolls.

The campaign, launched on Monday, marks a significant step in updating the state's voter registry.

Speaking to reporters in Guna, former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh expressed concern that the Election Commission has not provided the Congress party with digitally identifiable (machine-readable) voter lists.

He reiterated his party's demand that voter lists shared with political representatives be in a machine-readable format to facilitate digital cross-verification and identify duplicate entries across constituencies.

Singh also criticised the Election Commission for excluding Aadhaar cards from the list of acceptable identity proofs, arguing that registering every eligible citizen is both a fundamental right and a core responsibility of the Commission.

He further pointed out that, despite Supreme Court directives, the Commission has excluded the Aadhaar card from the list of 11 documents that Booth Level Officers (BLOs) are instructed to verify during their door-to-door survey.

Under the Commission's directive, every voter in the state will undergo fresh identity verification. Voter lists at each polling station across all 230 assembly constituencies will be meticulously scrutinised. This comprehensive exercise aims to fulfil several key objectives: enrolling new voters who have turned 18, removing names of deceased individuals, those who have permanently relocated, and duplicate entries.

Additionally, corrections will be made to inaccuracies in names, addresses, and other personal details to ensure the voter lists accurately reflect the current population.

To execute this task, BLOs will conduct door-to-door visits in both urban and rural areas, distributing forms, collecting data, and verifying identities using officially recognised documents.

Madhya Pradesh currently has an electorate of approximately 57.4 million people. Supporting this massive revision effort are 65,014 polling booths, 119,940 BLOs, 762 assistant returning officers, and 55 district election officers working in coordination.

The gender breakdown of the voter base includes around 29.2 million men and 27.8 million women. An analysis of the age demographics reveals a youthful skew in certain segments.

The state has 1,119,161 voters aged 18 to 19, 13,388,424 in the 20-to-29 age group, 15,144,883 between 30 and 39, 11,528,407 aged 40 to 49, 8,131,709 in the 50-to-59 bracket, 4,815,858 aged 60 to 69, 2,211,505 between 70 and 79, and 752,420 citizens aged 80 and above.

The second phase of the revision has already ignited political debate. The Election Commission, describing the initiative as a special and intensive process, emphasised its commitment to maintaining the integrity and reliability of the voter registry, thereby laying a strong foundation for free and fair elections in the future.

--IANS

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