A total of 1,510 electors have been determined ineligible for inclusion in the final electoral roll of Meghalaya after hearings conducted under the ongoing Special Intensive Revision exercise. Meghalaya Chief Electoral Officer BDR Tiwari stated that the documentation provided by these 1,510 individuals was inadequate or improper, leaving them disqualified from the upcoming voter list. In contrast, nearly 20 lakh voters have successfully cleared the verification process and will be featured in the final roll scheduled for publication on October 26.
Breakdown of Draft Roll and Verification Notices
The state draft electoral roll initially comprised 21,69,243 electors. Following preliminary scrutiny, notices were generated for 6,51,735 individuals across various constituencies. Election authorities successfully delivered 6,51,391 of these notices, and hearings have concluded in 6,13,512 instances. This completion represents 94.14 per cent of all notices issued across the state. With the majority of verifications settled, 19,96,297 electors have thus far been marked for entry into the final register.
Mapping Discrepancies and Administrative Review
Among the notices served during this intensive revision drive, 2,22,786 went to voters catalogued under the No Mapping classification. Another 4,28,949 cases involved mapping discrepancies and logical errors in voter records. To track the pace of resolution, the Chief Electoral Officer convened a virtual review meeting on Tuesday with Deputy Commissioners, District Election Officers, Electoral Registration Officers, and field personnel. Officials were instructed to prioritize all unresolved matters and ensure that every eligible citizen receives ample opportunity to participate under the designated rules.
Doorstep Verification and Eased Hearing Procedures
Under voter facilitation protocols introduced by the Election Commission of India, residents who received notices regarding logical errors or unmapped entries are generally exempt from visiting government election offices. Instead, Booth Level Officers will visit electors at their residences, gather the necessary identification records, and upload them directly to the ECINet portal for evaluation by the Electoral Registration Officer. In-person hearings remain limited to rare exceptions determined by the Electoral Registration Officer, and such proceedings are preferably conducted online. Whenever necessary, an elector is permitted to authorize an adult family member to represent them during these hearings.
Digitized Application Volumes and Political Party Agents
During the ongoing revision exercise, election authorities have received and digitized 23,259 formal voter applications. This total comprises 12,624 Form 6 applications for fresh registration, 1,616 Form 7 applications for objections, 1,590 Form 8 requests for shifting residential address, and 7,429 Form 8 submissions for updating personal details. The Chief Electoral Officer also met with representatives of recognized national and state political parties to share progress regarding notice deliveries, hearings, and outreach efforts. Political groups have appointed 1,814 Booth Level Agents across Meghalaya to oversee the process, led by NPP with 736 agents, followed by BJP with 393, VPP with 320, Congress with 186, UDP with 121, and Trinamool Congress with 58. The final electoral roll will be formally published on October 26 as scheduled.
