‘Only 747 enrolment applications received from homeless voters’: NGO writes to Delhi CEO, flags ‘lapses’

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Special camps were run in 130 Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board-run shelter homes across 43 Assembly constituencies on September 23 and 24. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

A non-profit organisation that facilitated a two-day citywide enrolment drive for homeless voters earlier this month wrote to the office of Delhi’s Chief Electoral Officer Ashok Kumar on Wednesday (September 30, 2026), stating that only 747 applications for re-inclusion into the rolls were received at the special camps.

The Centre for Holistic Development (CHD), which works with urban homeless citizens, also flagged weak outreach, language barriers, low literacy and mistrust of formal processes as possible reasons for the “very low registrations” at the camps in the 130 Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB)-run shelter homes across 43 Assembly constituencies on September 23 and 24.

“Limited awareness among Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and weak communication through Voter Registration and Enrolment Centres (VRECs), coupled with inadequate Information, Education and Communication (IEC) outreach, left many homeless residents unaware of their eligibility, required documents, and camp timings,” read the letter by CHD general secretary Sunil Kumar Aledia.

“We have submitted 747 forms, but we do not know how many of these will make it to the final roll. At least three such drives are needed in a year,” he told The Hindu, adding that it was the first time in five years that such camps had been set up in the Capital.

As per Mr. Aledia’s estimate, Delhi had more than 10,000 homeless voters before the start of the special intensive revision (SIR) drive. There are no data on how many homeless voters’ names were excluded from the draft roll.

There are also instances of homeless voters being asked to provide documents contrary to the guidelines issued by the Election Commission (EC).

Mr. Aledia said copies of address proofs were attached to the enrolment forms of all 747 voters, suggesting that all homeless voters had been asked to furnish address proofs.

Virendra Kaur, who is homeless, said she was asked for an addresss proof for enrolment. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

As per the EC’s Manual on Electoral Rolls 2023, homeless voters need not provide documentary proof of address to register as voters. Based on the address provided in Form 6, a BLO is required to verify that the applicant resides there. A ‘zero’ house number can also be used for a homeless voter.

At the two camps The Hindu visited, BLOs were unaware of this rule.

Virendra Kaur, 53, who visited one such camp, said she was asked to produce documents to prove her address and date of birth. Ms. Kaur said she has lived around Bangla Sahib Gurdwara for as long as she can remember.

“I once had Aadhaar, PAN and ration cards, as well as bank documents, but lost all those in a blaze that burnt down my makeshift house,” she said. The only document left is the voter card. However, her name is misspelt on it, rendering it useless for enrolment, she added.

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