New Delhi: Two weeks after the second phase of the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls began in nine States and three Union Territories, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has said more than 50.25 crore of the nearly 51 crore electors had received the enumeration forms.
The enumeration phase began on November 4 and will continue till December 4. The draft list will be published on December 7, followed by a claims and objections period, and the final list will be released on February 9. The EC said 98.54% of the 50.97 crore voters in these 12 States and Union Territories had received the partially filled forms.
Six crore, or 11.76%, of the forms have been digitized as well. Goa has the largest number of digitized forms, while Uttar Pradesh has the least.
The SIR exercise is being conducted in Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Puducherry, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Lakshadweep. Of these, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, and West Bengal will go to the polls in 2026.
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Major SIR updates ◉ The Supreme Court is expected to hear on November 21 the Kerala government’s petition seeking postponement of the special intensive revision of the state’s electoral rolls. ◉ West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has urged the Election Commission to halt SIR as another female booth-level officer died, this time by suicide, due to work pressure. BJP slammed her plea. ◉ The Congress announced that it would hold a public rally against the ECI in Delhi in December, as it accused the poll body of working on a “sinister design to destroy democracy and Opposition parties” through the ongoing SIR. ◉ The Tamil Nadu government has issued a strict warning to revenue department staff over their boycott of SIR duties, threatening salary deductions for non-compliance. |
