6 months ago
3
The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has present rolled into different batch of States and Union Territories aft creating a caller electoral rotation successful Bihar, a State which is present successful the midst of its elections. The Election Commission of India (ECI)-ordered SIR successful 9 States and 3 Union Territories, arsenic portion of a staggered pan-India exercise, began connected November 4, 2025. Being held successful Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat and the Union Territories of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep and Puducherry, this signifier includes immoderate States which spell to the polls adjacent year, but excludes Assam (also poll-going), wherever issues of citizenship are connected a antithetic ineligible track.
The post-enumeration draught rotation volition beryllium released connected December 9, portion the last rotation volition beryllium released connected February 7, 2026. This is lone the ninth SIR successful India’s 75-year-old electoral past and the archetypal 1 aft 21 years. In June 2025, the ECI had decided to commence intensive revision ‘in the full country’, besides confirming that the docket for each States ‘shall beryllium issued separately’ aft dealing with the contiguous demands of Bihar. The ECI has ordered the respective governments to supply the workforce for SIR operations and not displacement immoderate officials connected with SIR work.
No 1 size fits all
Under this SIR, 51 crore electors volition beryllium brought nether intensive reappraisal — much than fractional the country’s full electorate, spreading implicit 321 districts and 1,843 Assembly constituencies. It volition impact 5.33 lakh polling stations and an adjacent fig of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and implicit 7.64 lakh booth level agents of governmental parties — a fig which should spot an upsurge arsenic parties would beryllium keen to safeguard their interests.
No 2 elections successful India’s agelong past of 18 nationalist and implicit 400 Assembly elections were the same. This applies arsenic to the SIR successful presumption of upcoming challenges. The existent ruling dispensations successful Tamil Nadu and Kerala person taken a dim presumption of the SIR. The responses from West Bengal, with 7.7 crore electors, person been much combative; it is besides a State with a ample fig of constituencies bordering Bangladesh, wherever the issues of infiltration and citizenship are successful focus. Uttar Pradesh, with 15.44 crore electors, and societal complexities volition not beryllium a cakewalk either. The load of migrations that electoral rotation managers faced successful Bihar does not clasp existent successful different States. The ratio of past summary revisions could disagree from State to State, determining the quantum of the task. A statutory process specified arsenic a SIR has a definite uncompromising standardisation, but procedures whitethorn inactive necessitate section customisation.
A friendlier template
Bihar was a pugnacious duty being the archetypal SIR workout aft 2 decades, and which saw protests and doubts. The foundational lines person been drawn now. Article 326 of the Constitution that defines an elector is getting highlighted arsenic an adjacent information arsenic Article 324 successful moving elections. A SIR is morganatic but genuine electors request to beryllium facilitated utilizing a clip framework that is adequate.
Transparency levels should fulfill national and governmental party. The wide bid from the ECI, that “No papers is to beryllium collected from electors during the Enumeration Phase”, should beryllium a respite for millions of mean voters who are apprehensive the infinitesimal the connection ‘document’ is mentioned. The draught rotation volition see each those whose signed enumeration forms, further rationalised and partially pre-filled, are received.
Only those electors whose names could not beryllium matched/linked with erstwhile SIR volition beryllium notified and heard earlier the registration authoritative who decides connected either inclusion oregon exclusion. Three visits to the location of each elector by the BLO is reassuring. The acquainted Form 6 for caller enrolment, Form 7 for deletion and Form 8 for correction volition stay successful place. Critics of the SIR person reasons to beryllium satisfied with the modifications they could orchestrate; they should locomotion the adjacent steps without grudge oregon imaginary fear.
Electoral rotation management, mostly a method exercise, becomes cluttered erstwhile it becomes an echo enclosure for issues specified arsenic infiltration oregon disenfranchisement that are hyped. The SIR is fundamentally a cleanable up exercise. The pan-India representation volition hopefully not origin immoderate daze this time. The bulk of exclusion volition ever travel from death, absence, shifting oregon duplication. The SIR method is antithetic but complementary to the ECI’s innovative efforts successful a mobilisation of voters for registration and turnout successful caller years. Voter turnout successful the archetypal signifier of the Bihar predetermination has proved this. The Supreme Court of India and different stakeholders person been acrophobic that the close of immoderate elector should not beryllium denied portion trimming the flab. Under the SIR, BLOs person been specially directed to person astatine slightest 30 blank forms to facilitate the enrolment of caller voters.
An contented past debate
The SIR is simply a fait accompli and is past debate. An electoral rotation that has been intensely revised is present a world close up to polling time and the polling compartment. Political parties person changed their tune. From the ‘Stop SIR’ call, governmental parties are moving to marque the champion retired of the exercise, adjacent if they support their ideological absorption to it and inactive research ineligible remedies. If parties successful Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal person genuine fears astir the exclusion of eligible radical adjacent arsenic they spell up with canvass preparation, they request to act. They request to enactment successful the implementation of the SIR and marque usage of the decentralised operation of checks and balances and grievance mitigation.
More than the Supreme Court’s authorisation of the legitimacy of the SIR process, it is the ‘zero appeals’ successful the Bihar process and field-level collaboration seen by enactment functionaries (notwithstanding governmental statements astatine the top) which volition marque predetermination managers consciousness much assured successful taking the SIR forward. When asked astir imaginable absorption from States specified arsenic West Bengal, the Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, pointed to the architecture of law roles and duties and hoped for its seamless working.
While the fundamentals of the SIR person been validated, determination volition beryllium hurdles successful the execution successful scale. It is present that the ECI volition request to amusement accomplishment and empathy. The ECI’s bequest of competence demands that it should enactment continuously to uphold the spot of voters. It won the proceedings successful Bihar and the caller pan-India SIR volition beryllium different trial case.
Akshay Rout is erstwhile Director General, Election Commission of India. The views expressed are personal
