Jharkhand to hold ‘Chunav Pathshala’ at all polling booths on July 14 for electoral roll verification

Ranchi, July 10 (IANS) Jharkhand will organise ‘Chunav Pathshalas’ at all polling stations across the state on July 14 to make the voter verification process more transparent and participatory under Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

During these sessions, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will publicly read out the list of voters marked under the ASDD category — Absent, Shifted, Dead, and Duplicate (registered at more than one location) — to facilitate verification of the electoral rolls.

The initiative was announced by Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) K. Ravi Kumar during a review meeting with district officials on Friday.

The meeting, held via video conferencing, was attended by District Election Officers, Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs), Deputy Election Officers, computer operators, and BLO supervisors.

During the review, the CEO directed officials to accelerate the digitisation of voter forms in areas where progress has been slow by organising special camps to ensure the exercise is completed within the stipulated timeline.

He also announced that joint meetings of BLOs and BLA-2 representatives would be held in all districts on July 14 alongside the Election Pathshala programme.

Emphasising the importance of the Special Intensive Revision exercise, K. Ravi Kumar said it is a crucial component of the democratic process and requires active participation from recognised political parties as well as voters.

He urged electors to fill out the enumeration forms correctly and return them to BLOs at the earliest.

The CEO clarified that enumeration forms must be filled only by eligible Indian citizens. Under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, any foreign national furnishing false information or unlawfully filling out the form commits a punishable offence, and the concerned ERO will be required to register an FIR in such cases.

He further said that voters facing difficulties or confusion while filling out the forms can seek assistance from BLOs, volunteers, or AI-based video tutorials released by the Chief Electoral Officer’s office. Officials were instructed to ensure accurate updating of voters’ details and conduct the entire process in a transparent and error-free manner.

–IANS

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