Nearly 3,000 found ineligible to be included on voters’ list in Ernakulam

As the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) hearing of voter lists in Ernakulam district reached its final stage, it was determined that nearly 3 thousand people, most of whom were dead, were not eligible to be included in the final voter list.

Although there are six days left for the process to be completed according to the official deadline, the hearing process in the district is almost completed. According to official figures, 2,994 people from all 14 Assembly constituencies in the district were found to be ineligible for the final lists as of Sunday. The hearing is only expected to be completed for fewer than 700 voters, officials said.

These include people who died during the counting process, those who were shifted to other constituencies and voters who renounced their Indian citizenship. Some of the data had not yet emerged. According to officials who attended the hearing, it was determined that at least 154 voters in the region had acquired citizenship of other countries.

Thripunithura Assembly constituency was the district with the highest number of voters deemed ineligible, with 624 voters delisted. This is followed by Kalamassery (291) and Piravom (275). Kunnathunad has the least number of voters with 71 people.

The data suggests that fears that large numbers of voters could be dropped from the list due to the SIR’s alleged haste may be misplaced. “We are taking proactive steps throughout the exercise and efforts are ongoing at the booth level to add new voters and ensure no eligible individuals are left out,” a district official said.

It was determined that the total number of voters requiring verification during the hearing phase was 4 million 6 thousand 389 in the district. These included voters in the uncharted category; voters whose details cannot be linked to the base list in 2002, and voters for whom the list contains logical inconsistencies, including errors in names and other details.

As of Feb. 4, a total of 19,021 people statewide had been removed from voter rolls following hearings.