Shimla polls postponed, EC to revise electoral rolls

State Election Commission on Tuesday ordered fresh revision of electoral rolls to ensure free and fair polls.

Shimla, May 10: The elections to Shimla Municipal Corporation to be held by end of this month have been postponed following complaints of large scale discrepancies in electoral rolls.

The State election Commission on Tuesday took cognizance of complaints by political parties and candidates and ordered fresh revision of electoral rolls to ensure free and fair polls and directed that final electoral rolls be published by June 23, implying that the elections are unlikely to be held before mid-July.

A spokesman of the commission said that "as per the directions of the State Election Commission, the Election Registration Officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner, Shimla, prepared and notified the electoral rolls on 5 May, showing the number of total electors as 88,167 whereas the CEO of the state had informed that the total number of electors enrolled by them was 85,546 for the MC area."

He said that "both the electoral rolls were prepared with reference to same qualifying date January 1, 2017 and the difference was on the higher side while 2200 applications were still pending with the revising authorities."

He said that "the special revision of the electoral rolls would be done from June 15 to 23, verification of electors already enrolled in the final electoral rolls and receipt of claims and objections by the revising authority would be done from May 15 to 24 whereas work of preparations of list of voters with addition/deletion/correction would be undertaken from May 25 to 29."

He said that "the appeal by the aggrieved voters to the Election Registration Officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner Shimla could be done within three days from the passing of orders by the revising authority."

The disposal of appeals would be sorted out within three days from the filing of appeals and the preparation of the supplementary lists-II and insertion of corrections in the finally published electoral rolls would be done on 23.

PTI