Delhi’s special Summary Intensive Revision (SIR) camps saw voters struggle to prove their identities after discrepancies in names, spellings, ages and polling-booth details triggered notices and delayed corrections, according to a report by Jagran – New Delhi. Server outages and changes in polling locations added to the difficulties at several polling stations on Sunday.
The camps were organised to help voters resolve issues linked to notices and electoral-roll entries. However, residents arriving with documents said even small differences in names or spellings had created uncertainty over how they could establish that two records referred to the same person.
At the Bulbul Khana polling station in Turkman Gate, a voter from Suiwalan reportedly arrived with a file of documents after his earlier name, Mohammad Ali, appeared in the records as Sharafat Ali. A notice was issued over the difference, leaving him concerned that the discrepancy could cause further problems if it remained unresolved.
Another case involved Nasreen Taqi, whose name before marriage was Nasreen Khanam. Her family said that despite mapping during the previous SIR exercise, a notice was issued over the change in name after marriage. Her son brought documents connecting her former and current names, but questioned how families were expected to produce additional paperwork for a routine marital name change.
Booth-level officer Johar Sultana said notices had also been issued in families with more than six siblings where the age difference between children appeared unusually small. Some residents were unaware that online notices had been issued, while others reached their former polling stations after booth changes. Network problems reportedly affected work at some centres.
At the Multani Dhanda polling station, 168 people had received notices over spelling errors in names and differences in age. Booth-level officer Poonam said around 45 to 50 people had reached the centre by 2 pm, with most cases related to correcting names. Rajesh Wadhwa, one of the voters who arrived at the centre, said his name had been spelt incorrectly and that his polling booth had also changed.
The problems reported at the camps show how electoral-roll verification can become difficult when official records do not align with the documents held by residents. For voters, the immediate issue was not only correcting an entry but also understanding which documents would be accepted and where the correction had to be completed.
The report also highlights the operational dependence of the SIR process on accurate booth information, accessible notices and functioning digital systems. Residents who did not receive or notice online communications, or who travelled to an old polling station, faced additional delays before reaching the correct officials.
The special camps were intended to address these complaints on the ground. Further corrections and responses will depend on the verification of documents by booth-level officers and the handling of notices issued to affected voters.
