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Delhi SIR: Camps to enrol homeless, transgender persons, sex workers on electoral roll
New Delhi, Sep 17 (PTI) Poll officials on Thursday said special camps will be held at night shelters and other identified pockets across Delhi to reach homeless citizens, transgender persons and sex workers who may face difficulties in establishing their identity or residence during the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls.
The camps will be held on September 23 and 24 from 5 pm to 9 pm at all Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) night shelters and other such locations across the capital’s 13 districts, according to a statement issued by the Delhi Chief Electoral Officer.
Separate outreach will be undertaken for transgender persons and sex workers in coordination with NGOs working with the communities, with booth-level officers (BLO) deployed at the designated locations during the camps.
The exercise comes against the backdrop of 64.55 per cent fall in the number of third-gender electors in Delhi’s draft roll, with their numbers dropping from 1,261 in the electoral roll used for the 2025 assembly polls to 447 in the draft published on August 31.
Transgender persons and community representatives have previously raised the issue of hurdles in the revision process, including differences in names across identity documents, difficulty in furnishing proof of permanent residence and lack of access to documents held by estranged family members.
BLOs said that details of homeless voters, too, can be difficult to verify during an enumeration exercise that relies heavily on address and documentary records.
“Several homeless people lack fixed addresses, family records or other documents ordinarily used to establish their identity and residence,” a BLO said.
However, the Delhi CEO office has said that anyone who qualifies as an “ordinary resident” would be included in the final electoral roll.
“Online submission of forms on the BLO app should be encouraged. However, physical form should also be obtained without fail from the applicants,” the statement read.
Officials have also been instructed to process applications from the three groups strictly under the Election Commission’s Manual of Electoral Rolls-2023 and ensure that no ineligible person is enrolled.
The initiative is part of a wider effort to encourage participation in the claims and objections phase of the special intensive revision (SIR). General special camps will also be held at all polling station locations in Delhi on September 20 and 27, from 10 am to 5 pm.
At these camps, voters can check the draft roll, submit forms and seek assistance in filing applications through the Election Commission’s Voters’ Service Portal or ECINet mobile application.
The draft roll, which was published on August 31, has 97,53,577 electors, including 49,88,993 men and 47,64,137 women, compared with 1,55,24,858 electors on the rolls for the 2025 assembly polls.
Those left out of the draft roll can file claims for inclusion till September 30 through Form 6, along with supporting documents. The examination and disposal of claims and objections is scheduled to continue till October 29, with the final electoral roll due on November 4. PTI MSJ VIT PRK
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.