Enumeration form collecting is “much less” in metropolitan areas across 12 states and UTs.

In the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of voters’ lists in nine states and three Union territories, the number of enumeration forms collected from voters in urban regions was “much less” than in rural areas, according to EC officials who cited available trends on Friday.

They stated that the most likely explanation for voters not returning completed enumeration forms is that they are unavailable at home because of obligations related to their jobs or careers. Another explanation for the reduced form collection was thought to be ongoing migration.Compared to urban regions, booth-level officers collected much more enumeration forms in rural areas.

According to officials who cited data from states where SIR is underway, Lucknow, Kanpur, and Noida were among the cities that saw “much less” form collection.

They claimed that during Bihar’s voter cleanup last year, a similar pattern was observed in other locations, including Patna.

On November 4, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal initiated Phase II of SIR. All states and UTs have released draft electoral rolls, with the exception of Uttar Pradesh.

A different “special revision” of the electoral rolls is underway in Assam. Similar to how the EC used the Bihar voter list from 2003 for extensive updating, the deadline will be the last SIR in each state.

By verifying their place of birth, the SIR’s main goal is to filter out unauthorized foreign migrants. The action takes on significance following a crackdown on illegal migrants, especially those from Bangladesh and Myanmar, in several states.