NCP (SP) delegation meets Maharashtra poll chief; seeks SIR extension, flags voter list issues

Mumbai, Jul 16 (PTI) Senior NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil and party MLA Jitendra Awhad on Thursday met Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officer S Chockalingam over difficulties faced by voters during Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, and sought an extension of the exercise and greater transparency. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Patil said several discrepancies and technical issues had been noticed in the voter lists available on the SIR application. Booth Level Officers (BLOs) were facing confusion in implementing the exercise and, in many places, had not been able to reach voters, resulting in difficulties in the revision process, he claimed. The NCP (SP) delegation requested the Election Commission to extend the deadline for the SIR exercise to enable eligible voters to complete the process, Patil added. At the same time, he appealed to voters to ensure they register and verify their details under the ongoing revision exercise. The delegation also raised issues concerning members of the LGBTQ community during the voter registration process. Chockalingam assured that no injustice would be done to any individual and the concerns would be addressed, Patil informed. PTI MR BNM