Congress Urges Maharashtra Poll Body to Extend Electoral Roll Revision Deadline

The Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee has urged the Chief Electoral Officer to extend the deadline for filing claims and objections under the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls to November 30. The party raised concerns over what it described as the large-scale exclusion of voters from the draft rolls.

In a formal letter submitted to the Chief Electoral Officer, Congress general secretary Adv. Sandesh Kondvilkar sought a transparent and voter-friendly hearing process. According to the party, around 2.06 crore voters out of a total of 9.78 crore registered voters—representing 21.14 per cent—have been excluded from the draft electoral roll under the category "ASDD – Uncollectable". The published draft list currently contains 7.71 crore voters, including individuals marked as anomalies and unmapped voters.

Kondvilkar pointed out that the existing window running from August 31 to September 30 is inadequate for citizens to file claims and raise objections. He noted that this timeframe overlaps with the Ganesh festival, a period when many residents travel away from their constituencies to their native places, making it difficult to participate in the revision exercise.

Alongside the deadline extension, the Congress outlined several administrative demands to make the verification process more accessible. The party has demanded the booth-wise publication of lists containing anomaly and unmapped voters, as well as the physical delivery of official notices rather than relying on WhatsApp messaging.

The party also called for hearings to be conducted directly at polling stations instead of being restricted to only three or four centres per constituency. Further requests include simplified verification procedures for ASDD voters, dedicated facilities for new voter registrations, priority hearings for senior citizens, and the issuance of written reasons within two days if any voter claims are rejected.

Additionally, the Congress demanded the re-verification of deceased and duplicate voters, along with regular updates and information sharing regarding the Special Intensive Revision process with all political parties.