Voters also worry that if the forms are filled incorrectly, they could be treated as ‘unmapped’, further inviting scrutiny, including a notice from the ERO.
| Photo Credit: ALLEN EGENUSE J.
People whose names are not part of the 2002 electoral rolls and who have to link themselves as “progeny” are facing confusion while filling the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) enumeration form.Many voters said different Booth Level Officers (BLOs) are giving different instructions on whose name should be written in the “Name” section while filling the form as a progeny. While some BLOs ask voters to write their own name, others ask them to write the name of the parent or relative whose electoral record they are linking themselves with. When The Hindu visited a few areas like Shivajinagar, Banaswadi and Byatarayanapura, the same confusion came up repeatedly.Voters said the form already has their details pre-filled, including their name, but the progeny section again asks for a “Name”. This has left many wondering whether they should write their own name again or the name of the parent or relative they are linking themselves with.The process becomes even more complicated after that. Once voters get past the confusion over whose name should be entered in the first field, they face more perplexity over how to fill the subsequent sections, such as “Relative’s Name” and “Relation.”For example, a person whose name is not in the 2002 electoral roll may have to link themselves to their father. If they write their own name in the “Name” field, they would write “Father” in the relationship column. But if they write their father’s name in the “Name” field, as suggested by other BLOs, they no longer know what relationship to write. Should it still be “Father”, or should it be “Grandfather” because the father’s record is linked to the grandfather.Voters said this is not explained anywhere in the form or online, and different BLOs are giving different answers. Some BLOs were seen calling Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) for clarification. However, the responses were not the same again, leaving voters with no clarity. It is to be noted that if the forms are filled incorrectly, the voters could be treated as “unmapped”, further inviting scrutiny, including a notice from the ERO.More confusionAnother issue that confused many voters was spelling differences in their names. Many told The Hindu that the names already pre-filled in the enumeration form did not exactly match the correct spelling of their names. This left them confused about whether they should keep the spelling as it appears in the 2002 electoral rolls, even when it is wrong or flag it instead. Here too, BLOs gave different instructions. Some told voters to write their names exactly as they appear in the 2002 electoral rolls, even if there are spelling mistakes. Others said the names should be corrected, but said they did not know how changes could be made because the details were already pre-filled and printed in the form. The voters also expressed frustration with the way BLOs were conducting the door-to-door visits. The SIR booklet says BLOs should visit every household twice — first to hand over the enumeration form and later to collect the filled form. This is meant to give voters enough time to understand the form and fill in the required details themselves — especially the 2002 details. However, many voters lamented that BLOs were asking them to fill and submit the form during the first visit itself, so they don’t have to make repeated visits. Published - July 03, 2026 08:24 pm IST
