The Election Commission of India has introduced a new mandatory declaration in the online version of Form 6, the standard application used by citizens to register as new voters. Applicants are now required to provide details regarding their parents' status in the electoral rolls during the most recent Special Intensive Revision exercise. While the new field is not explicitly labeled as compulsory, users report that they cannot successfully submit their online application without completing this section. This change has been implemented on the ECINET portal, though it does not appear in the offline version of the form prescribed under existing electoral rules.
The new requirement asks applicants to select from three options: whether their own name, their parents' names, or neither, appeared in the electoral rolls during the last Special Intensive Revision. If an applicant selects one of the first two options, they must provide specific details, including the assembly constituency, booth number, and serial number of the relevant entry. The Election Commission has stated that this process is intended to improve the accuracy of electoral rolls, reduce documentation burdens, and better map voters across the country.
This update arrives during an ongoing Special Intensive Revision process currently active in several states and Union Territories. The initiative follows a period where over 5.58 million names were removed from electoral rolls in various regions, a development that has drawn attention to the transparency of the revision process. As the Election Commission continues to manage these updates, the practical impact on new voter registration remains a point of focus for both officials and the public.