Centre Explores Possibility Of Single Voter List For All Polls: Report

New Delhi:

The federal government is discussing the potential of having a not unusual electoral roll for Lok Sabha, meeting and native frame elections to keep away from discrepancies and produce uniformity within the electorate checklist, officers stated on Saturday.

At the present, the Election Fee prepares the electoral roll or voter checklist for Lok Sabha and meeting polls. The state election commissions, that are altogether separate our bodies as in keeping with constitutional provisions, dangle elections for native our bodies akin to municipalities and panchayats of their respective states in accordance with their very own voter lists.

A number of state election commissions use the draft voter checklist of the EC to formulate their very own rolls. The draft EC roll is continuously divided into wards for native frame elections.

Now, the Centre is exploring the potential of having a unmarried voter checklist for Lok Sabha, meeting and native frame polls as it will assist herald uniformity and in addition save prices occupied with a complete workout getting repeated for making separate voter lists, officers stated.

There are provisions within the Charter that empower states to formulate their very own regulations to carry panchayat and municipal polls.

States even have powers to both have their very own voter lists or to undertake the only ready by means of the EC for meeting polls.

“The federal government is discussing whether or not there generally is a unmarried electoral roll for those 3 varieties of elections. Now, states need to be persuaded to undertake the central electoral roll ( the only ready by means of EC),” defined a senior functionary.

In keeping with some other functionary, it’s “fascinating” to have one not unusual electoral roll as at the moment a complete workout will get repeated for a similar goal.

“Cash may be spent for a similar workout two times. One roll will also be excellent for electorate additionally and there could be no discrepancy in native frame and meeting voter lists,” he stated.

Frequently discrepancies had been spotted when names of electorate are lacking in probably the most lists.

Previous this month, the Top Minister’s Workplace organised a gathering at the factor the place most sensible officers of the Legislation Ministry and the EC gave their perspectives at the provide standing and the long run probabilities.

Requested whether or not the proposed unmarried electoral roll used to be related to the speculation of preserving simultaneous elections, a central authority respectable stated the 2 don’t seem to be related as simultaneous polls most often check with preserving Lok Sabha and meeting polls in combination within the Indian context.

The Election Fee, the Legislation Fee and the Parliamentary Status Committee on Legislation and Staff Ministries have supported the speculation of a unmarried voter checklist prior to now additionally.

In a letter written to the federal government in November 1999, the Election Fee had stated that separate rolls ready by means of the EC and State ECs “no longer handiest create confusion a few of the electors as a result of their names is also found in one roll however absent within the different, or vice versa, but in addition lead to duplication of effort and expenditure.”

In its file on Calls for for Grants (2016-17) of the Legislation Ministry, the status committee had additionally identified that  as of now, the EC and State Election Commissions have separate electoral rolls.

“They bring out registration of electorate and updation of electoral rolls one after the other. The numbers of electorate of their electoral rolls typically range,” it had stated.