BLOs reveal that there was very little guidance on the online submission process during their training. They said the focus was largely on digitising documents and using the ECINet app.
| Photo Credit: ALLEN EGENUSE J.
With the enumeration phase gathering pace, many people filling the online form for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) are left wondering — what next?
When a voter fills a physical Enumeration Form, the Booth Level Officer (BLO) collects it. But for those who complete the process online, there is little clarity on what they are supposed to do next.
Many questions
Should they simply submit the online form and consider the process complete? Do they have to inform the BLO? Will the BLO still visit their house? Or do they have to fill the physical form as well? Like voters, many BLOs also said they are unsure about the next step.
With neither voters nor BLOs equipped with clear instructions, several BLOs said they have been asking people who have already submitted the form online to also fill the physical form “just to be safe”, as they already know what details need to be entered.
BLOs told The Hindu that there was very little guidance on the online submission process during their training. They said the focus was largely on digitising documents and using the ECINet app. Since they were unsure whether the online acknowledgement alone was sufficient, many said they were asking voters to fill the physical forms as well.
During work hours
Some voters said that they chose to submit the form online because they expected BLOs to visit during working hours, when their homes would be locked. However, after submitting the online form, they received calls from BLOs asking them to anyway fill out the physical forms for the entire family.
“Some people have shown us screenshots of the acknowledgement, but what if those screenshots get deleted? Online forms are of little use. A voter should not feel that the BLO skipped their house, so we’re distributing forms to everyone,” a BLO said, adding that “there is no harm in filling the form twice.”
Another BLO said that, in cases where the form has been submitted online, the acknowledgement slip should be attached to the printed form. However, the BLO admitted there was no clarity on why a physical form was still required to be distributed if the online submission had been completed, or what would happen if a voter successfully submitted the form online but did not attach the acknowledgement.
Many voters said they preferred the online form because they did not want to wait for the BLO’s visit. Others said they found it easier because the form was available in English, while some said it was more convenient to search for details such as voter links for progeny mapping, part number and Assembly constituency online instead of looking them up separately while filling the physical form.
A few Electoral Registration Officers and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers, whom The Hindu contacted, did not have clarity on the issue either.
Published – July 04, 2026 11:28 pm IST
