New Delhi, March 13: Delhi's electoral roll published this January has over 9,000 service voters, which include armed forces personnel and diplomats posted in other places, officials said Wednesday. The electoral roll is being continuously updated ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in Delhi scheduled on May 12, officials said.

There are 9,023 service voters in the national capital's electoral roll published on January 18, according to data shared by the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Delhi. Personnel of the armed forces, central armed police forces and state police personnel deployed outside their constituencies are considered as service voters. Delhi: Ranbir Singh Appointed As New Chief Electoral Officer.

Diplomats and other support staff serving in embassies abroad are also service voters. The Election Commission had in February said that there was a substantial increase in the number of service voters in the country enrolled ahead of the Lok Sabha elections as compared to 2014. In total 16,62,993 service personnel have been enrolled as service electors in the country in the electoral roll 2019, it had said.

In 2014, the corresponding figure was 13,27,627. Delhi CEO Ranbir Singh on Monday said that around two lakh people have been added to the electoral roll in Delhi in the last two months, taking the total number of eligible voters till date to 1.39 crore. "On January 18, the total number of voters in the electoral roll of Delhi stood at 1,36,95,291. So, there is an increase of nearly two lakh voters since then," Singh said.

He, however, said nearly 90,000 voter applications are currently being processed and asked first-time voters to apply as soon as possible to get their names enrolled in the electoral list. The number of first-time voters, aged 18-19, in the electoral roll stands at 1,58,314, he told reporters here. Singh also said authorities will keep a strict vigil on social media platforms to check the spread of fake news and hate speech to ensure free and fair polls,

He asserted that "appropriate action" will be taken against violators.