Shimla: The Election Commission would make an effort to make the electoral rolls available on website before the next Lok Sabha elections in 2004, Election Commissioner T S Krishnamurthy said in Shimla on October 22.

The electoral rolls for Delhi had already been made available on the website and efforts were on to cover other states, Krishanamurthy, who was in Shimla in connection with preparations for Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections slated for February 2003, said.

The ultimate aim of the Commission was to have the electoral rolls online with photograph and other details of the voter but it was a long process and might take a longer time, he said.

Krishnamurthy expressed hope that photo identity cards would be provided to maximum number of voters in Assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh.

He said a fresh round for preparing photo identity cards (I-cards ) had commenced and it was expected that the percentage of voters with defect-less I-cards would increase from 54.76 per cent to nearly 70 per cent at the time of elections.

Krishnamurthy said I-card was the most important mode of identification but it would not be made compulsory and other modes of identification would also be allowed to establish the identity of voters.

PTI