13 crore names not vote theft but standard purification via ASDD formula: BJP's Sambit Patra

Addressing media persons in Varanasi, Patra said the purification process follows the ASDD formula for removal of names.

BJP MP Sambit Patra on Monday detailed the formula used for purification of electoral rolls and defended the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR), stating that 13 crore names flagged were part of a standard verification process and not an instance of vote theft. Addressing media persons in Varanasi, Patra said the purification process follows the ASDD formula for removal of names.

"The purification process for the electoral roll—which involves adding or removing names—follows a formula known as 'ASDD'. This formula covers four categories of individuals whose names are removed: 'A' stands for 'absent', 'S' stands for 'shifted', 'D' stands for 'deceased', and the second 'D' stands for 'duplicate'," Patra said. Explaining the breakup of the 13 crore figure, he said approximately 3 crore voters were marked as 'absent' after Booth Level Officers (BLOs) appointed by the Election Commission did not find them at their registered address even after three visits. He said those voters could get their names included by filling Form 6 within 21 days, and the number was gradually decreasing.

"So, how was the figure of 13 crore arrived at? It was calculated as follows: first, the number of absentees is approximately 3 crore. This means that when the BLO (Booth Level Officer), who is appointed by the Election Commission, visits your home and you are not present, you are marked as absent. The BLO visits your home three times. If you are absent on all three occasions, your name is placed in the absentee category because you were not available at your residence. Accordingly, you are counted as an absentee. As part of the ongoing process, approximately 3 crore people have been placed in the absentee category. Now, suppose you were absent initially but returned later. There is a provision for you to get your name included in the voter list by filling out Form 6 within 21 days. This process is also underway. Therefore, the figure of 3 crore is gradually decreasing day by day," Patra said. On the 'shifted' category, Patra said around 45 crore Indians have migrated since the last SIR in 2002-04. Initially, about 12 crore people were identified as permanently shifted, of which around 6 crore have now filled Form 6 to register at their new addresses.

"The second category is that of permanently shifted voters. Anyone who has shifted to another location is responsible for filling out Form 6 at their new address. However, most do not complete this process. Initially, this figure was approximately 12 crore, meaning 12 crore people had shifted from their original locations. As the SIR process progressed, awareness spread among people and BLOs started visiting households. Out of these 12 crore people, approximately 6 crore filled out Form 6. As a result, only 6 crore people now remain in the shifted category. Notices have also been issued to these 6 crore people. Camps are being organised. Once these people also complete Form 6, they will be removed from the shifted category and registered as voters at their new locations. For example, if you have moved from Kashi to Ghaziabad, you will become a voter in Ghaziabad," he said. "There has been no SIR since 2003–04, meaning there has been no such exercise for nearly 20 years. Approximately 45 crore Indians have migrated during this period. They were working in one place and subsequently moved elsewhere for employment. Out of these, initially around 12 crore people were identified in the shifted category, and now only 6 crore remain. This is a natural process in such a large democracy. Their names will also be added once they complete Form," he added.

For the deceased category, Patra said around 2.8 crore people were identified after BLO verification. He noted that families generally do not approach the Electoral Registration Officer to delete names after a death. "The third category is deceased voters. Approximately 2.8 crore, or 2 crore 80 lakh, people have been identified as deceased after BLOs visited their homes and conducted verification. This is a rather unfortunate issue. When someone in a family passes away, we generally do not visit the Registrar's Office or the Election Commission's office, or approach the ERO (Electoral Registration Officer), to request the deletion of their name from the voter list," he stated.

On duplicate entries, he said about 1 crore people had voter registrations in two places, for instance, both in their native village and in cities like Lucknow, Kanpur and Ghaziabad where they migrated for work. "They chose to retain their vote in their villages, where they own agricultural land and receive various benefits. They decided to remain registered as voters in their villages rather than in the cities because they receive benefits associated with their voter ID cards and Aadhaar cards, including benefits under schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana," he said.

"When all these categories are added together, the total comes to 13 crore. These 13 crore people have not had their votes stolen. Should we have retained the names of those 3 crore deceased people in the voter list? Earlier, bogus votes used to be cast in the names of deceased people in West Bengal. Should we allow such bogus voting to continue even now? No, we will not allow bogus votes to be cast," Patra said. His remark came a day after the INDIA bloc on Sunday held a mega rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan against alleged irregularities in electoral rolls and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, with top Opposition leaders, including Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, attending the event. (ANI)