State has 4.46 crore eligible voters

The State has 4.46 crore eligible voters for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, according to the final voters’ list complied by the office of Chief Electoral Officer (CEO).

With a whopping 69.68 per cent coverage, the Election Commission of India (ECI) said electoral coverage is at its peak in the State.

The EC has placed an ideal electoral coverage at 70 per cent to 71 per cent in every State. The electoral coverage prior to the Assembly elections in May 2013 was 4.37 crore. Subsequently, in the past two months, the EC added another nine lakh valid voters to the list.

But with concerns of ‘minor errors’ having crept into the final list, the CEO of Karnataka is seeking two to three weeks extension for publishing the final list of voters.

According to CEO Anil Kumar Jha, minor errors may not reflect much in terms of coverage and that they will be addressed by the month-end.

The final list of voters will be published by January 31, according to the ECI directive.
“While we are hopeful of removing the errors before that date, I will speak to other states on their approach in publishing the list before taking the final call,” Jha said.

Complaints galore

Many complaints have emerged about voters’ list over the last few months.
Most are about duplication of names, and lack of update on applicants’ addresses. Meanwhile, ECI, since January 6, has begun accepting citizens’ applications for addition and deletion of names from, and change of addresses in, the list of registered voters.

The changes will be, however, incorporated only in the supplementary list of voters to be published before Lok Sabha elections later this year. The EC has set a target of 71 per cent coverage prior to the Lok Sabha elections.