NEW DELHI: Most minority-dominated assembly constituencies in Delhi have witnessed a higher percentage of verification of registered voters, with Seelampur recording 76.6% during the ongoing SIR, which means these areas may witness fewer deletions.The percentage of verification in other areas is mixed — outer Delhi constituencies such as Rohini (83%), Shakur Basti (81%), Mangolpuri (78%) and some others have witnessed high verification, while others, including many upscale colonies such as R K Puram (44.5%) and Kasturba Nagar (44%), have witnessed a lower percentage.
SIR verifications in Delhi
While Seelampur saw the highest percentage of verification, it was followed by Matia Mahal at 75.5%, Babarpur at 72.9% and Mustafabad at 71.9%.In Old Delhi, Ballimaran recorded 67.3% verification, while Chandni Chowk recorded 60.9%. Okhla was a major exception, with only 54.6% of existing voters being verified, which officials said may be due to higher migration.SIR verification: Kalkaji, New Delhi among laggardsAn official said that during the enumeration period from June 30 to Aug 18, most of the minority constituencies responded to SIR process more seriously, with some aware locals helping others make submissions on time. Similar excitement was missing from several constituencies in mostly upscale areas, the official said.Officials attributed the higher verification rate in minority-dominated constituencies to multiple factors, such as “extensive awareness efforts by locals; in many areas locals turned tutors and volunteers explained the process to people through videos and also through physical meetings”.Delhi has 70 assembly constituencies with 1.45 crore registered voters, out of which 97.5 lakh voters submitted their details by Aug 17, the last day of enumeration form submission. Nearly 33% of the electorate failed to submit their enumeration forms because of various reasons, primarily because most of them have shifted from their registered addresses.Around 47.6 lakh voters are likely to be struck off the draft electoral roll when it is published on Aug 24. Those who failed to submit forms will get the opportunity to file claims and objections from Aug 24 to Sept 23.Verification ranged from a low of 52.1%, in Tughlakabad, to a high of 83.4% in Rohini.Uttam Nagar, which has several unauthorised colonies, witnessed 77.7% verification, while outer Delhi constituencies Narela, Bawana and Madipur crossed 76%.By contrast, several middle-income constituencies in South and Central Delhi returned some of the lowest verification numbers in the city — Kalkaji recorded 57.2%, Badarpur 57.3%, New Delhi 58.2%, Jangpura 58.4%, Mehrauli 58.9%, Sangam Vihar 59.2%, Patel Nagar 59.2% and Karol Bagh 59.5%.Poll officials also attributed such variations to ground-level factors, including migration patterns and lack of interest among several voters, particularly in upscale colonies. One registered voter told TOI that he could not get his name added because he “struggled to complete the SIR process because the BLO was unavailable, paperwork was all over the place, and poll officials said his photograph was not matching”.
