India, Oct. 13 -- After the poor response from first-time voters and electors whose names were deleted from the draft electoral rolls, the Election Commission (EC) has extended the deadline for fresh enrolment, as well as claims and objections in Maharashtra till October 26. However, the deadline for hearings on claims and objections will remain unchanged at November 10. The final electoral roll is scheduled to be published on November 16.

The EC has received only 8,33,000 applications as of Monday and is hoping for more applications during the 14-day extension.

As part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), the EC deleted 20.70 million electors from the rolls on August 30, when the first phase of the exercise was completed, and the d...