August 17, 2025

The Election Commission of India (ECI) gave a strict reply to political parties and people who raised complaints about errors in past electoral rolls. The ECI said Saturday that if such problems were truly noticed, they should have been pointed out during the special Claims and Objections period meant for this purpose. "Recently, some Political Parties and individuals are raising issues about errors in the Electoral Rolls, including those prepared in the past. The appropriate time to raise any issue with the Electoral Rolls would have been during the Claims and Objections period of that phase, which is precisely the objective behind sharing the Electoral Rolls with all Political Parties and the Candidates. Had these issues been raised at the right time through the right channels, it would have enabled the concerned SDM EROs to correct the mistakes, if genuine, before those elections," said the ECI in a powerful press release. What’s this Claims and Objections period? It’s a one-month window after the draft Electoral Rolls are published. During this time, electors and parties can file any complaints or suggest corrections. This window helps the officials fix errors fast. The ECI explained that election officers called Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), who are usually Sub-Divisional Magistrates (SDMs), create and finalize these Electoral Rolls. They get support from Booth Level Officers (BLOs). Both teams share full responsibility for keeping the rolls accurate. To make the process transparent, draft Electoral Rolls—both in digital and physical form—are shared with political parties and placed on the official ECI website for everyone to see. After the Claims and Objections period, the final rolls are also sent to parties. If anyone is unhappy with decisions on claims, there’s a two-level appeal system. They can first approach the District Magistrate (DM) and then the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of their State or Union Territory. The ECI ended on an inviting note: it welcomes political parties and electors to check Electoral Rolls carefully. This ongoing check helps officers remove mistakes and makes the electoral system pure and fair. So, the message is clear—spot a problem in the Electoral Rolls? Don’t shout after the elections! Raise your voice during the Claims and Objections time and help keep India’s democracy clean and shining bright.

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Tags: Election commission of india, Electoral rolls, Claims and objections, Eros, Political parties, Election errors,