Panaji: Congress Lok Sabha MP from South Goa, Viriato Fernandes, has expressed surprise and concern after receiving a notice from the Election Commission of India (ECI) directing him to appear before the Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO) with documents to prove his identity for retaining his name in the electoral rolls. The notice comes amid the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voters’ list in Goa, aimed at updating and verifying the electoral rolls. Fernandes, a former Indian Navy officer, has been a registered voter continuously since 1989.

MP Questions ECI Procedure

Captain Fernandes, who defeated BJP candidate Pallavi Shrinivas Dempo in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, pointed out the irony of receiving the notice despite his long-standing record as an elector. “This notice is coming on the backdrop of ECI having subjected every contestant during last Lok Sabha polls in 2024, including me, to the highest level of scrutiny before clearing names for contesting in the elections,” he said. He added that if even a sitting Member of Parliament can be subjected to such checks, it raises concerns about the challenges faced by ordinary voters.

Highlighting his long history of participation in democratic processes, Fernandes said, “I have been voting since 1989 after becoming eligible thanks to late PM Shri Rajiv Gandhi Ji’s initiative of giving voting rights to 18-year-olds. I travelled to Goa multiple times from far-off military postings during my 26 years of service in the Indian Navy just to cast my vote, be it Lok Sabha, Assembly, Panchayat or zilla.”

The notice specifically instructed Fernandes to appear before the AERO on January 27 with the necessary documents to verify his registration. According to the notice, he had not “filled in the details related to you or your relative that could establish you or your relative as a registered elector in the electoral rolls prepared during the previous SIR.”

AERO Clarifies Procedure

In response to Fernandes’ complaint, AERO Janavi Kalekar clarified that the issue arose due to incomplete details in the enumeration form submitted by the MP. Kalekar explained that the form did not contain mandatory information regarding the previous SIR, including the Assembly constituency number, part number, and serial number in the electoral roll.

“As these essentials were not filled in, the BLO (booth-level officer) application could not automatically link the form with the existing electoral roll record. Accordingly, in the present case, the enumeration form was placed under the unmapped category by the system and a hearing notice was generated and issued automatically as per the prescribed procedure,” she said.

Special Intensive Revision in Goa

Goa is among the states where the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is currently being conducted. The last SIR in the state was held in 2002. Under the ongoing exercise, voters who cannot provide proof that their name or the name of a parent or relative appears in the 2002 SIR list are categorized as “unmapped” and issued notices to submit documents verifying their citizenship and electoral status.

Chief Electoral Officer Sanjay Goel said that the current SIR exercise has led to the removal of 100,042 names from the draft electoral roll, representing a deletion percentage of 8.44%. Out of a total electorate of 1,185,034, enumeration forms were collected from 1,084,992 voters, achieving a coverage of 91.56%. The draft roll flagged 25,574 electors as deceased, 72,471 as shifted or absent, and 1,997 as enrolled in multiple locations.

Concerns Over Voter Deletion

Fernandes’ case has sparked discussion about the potential impact of SIR on ordinary voters, with opposition parties, civil society groups, and citizens raising concerns that legitimate voters may be wrongly removed from the rolls, potentially affecting their ability to participate in elections. While the ECI maintains that the exercise aims to clean and update the rolls for accuracy, cases like Fernandes’ highlight the challenges in balancing verification with ensuring voter rights.

The MP’s notice has prompted attention both within Goa and nationally, raising broader questions about the implementation of electoral roll revisions and the safeguards for long-standing voters.