Around 2 lakh apply for voter enrolment, list likely by April 1

NEW DELHI: The enrolment of voters for the upcoming polls came to a close on Wednesday and the district election offices will process the applications to ensure that the eligible candidates make it to the final electoral roll which is likely to be in the public domain by April 1. As per the existing electoral roll, there are 1,20,60,493 voters in Delhi.

The last four days have witnessed a rush of applicants. On Sunday, about 1.7 lakh applications were received in special camps organized at over 11,700 polling stations across Delhi. Over two lakh applications, which includes those received online, have to be processed over the next 15 days. However, voter enrolment, as per the norms, will continue till the last day of filing nominations which is March 22. These applicants will not be included in the electoral roll for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

The candidates can start filing nominations from March 15. They can withdraw from the contest latest by March 26. While polling will be held on April 10 in Delhi, the counting is scheduled for May 16.

In the meantime, enforcement of the model code of conduct is in full swing. Besides daily monitoring of liquor vends through CCTV coverage, the chief electoral officer of Delhi has asked banks to report all withdrawals above Rs 10 lakh from one account to the district election officer. The income tax sleuths will inquire into all such cases as a measure to check flow of back money.

As part of expenditure monitoring of candidates, the CEO has directed all district election officers to focus on farmhouse parties and community feasts organized by candidates and political parties.

"In addition, not just expenses on radio, TV and print advertisements by candidates but also social media will be added in their expenditure accounts," CEO Vijay Dev said. Content on social media related to the upcoming polls would also be monitored for violations of the model code, he added.