AAP writes to Election Commission over voter re-distribution plan in Delhi

New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday wrote a letter to the Election Commission of India (ECI) raising concerns regarding the Special Summary Revision of Photo Electoral Rolls in the national capital.

AAP in the letter to ECI referred to a notice dated August 7, issued by the ECI stating that it is planning to redistribute the voters in excess of 1500 per booth to the booths where the voters are less than 1500, the letter said. 

AAP in the letter emphasised that the redistribution plan, which proposes shifting voters exceeding 1,500 at a booth to less populated booths, could pose logistical challenges. 

According to the party, it is nearly impossible for more than 650 people to vote at a single booth within the allotted 11-hour period on election day.  "We would like to bring to your attention the fact that on voting day, where a total time period of 11 hours (660 minutes) is allocated for voting, it is entirely impossible for more than 650 people to vote in a single booth," the letter reads. 

"Considering historically a voting of around 65 per cent, we feel that any polling booth may not have more than 1000 voters in any case," the letter said.  AAP further proposed several recommendations to the ECI regarding the redistribution of voters as part of the Special Summary Revision of Photo Electoral Rolls. 

The party suggested redistributing voters only to booths where the current number is below 1,000 and capping the number of voters per booth at 1,000. Additionally, ensure that all family members are assigned to the same polling booth. 

They also recommended avoiding any redistribution that would send voters to booths farther from their current location. 

Lastly, AAP suggested to create additional booths, if necessary, using a “Booth A and Booth B” arrangement so that each one has 750 plus voters in them.

The national capital will go to polls in the coming months, as Delhi Assembly elections are due in February next year.