6 months ago
2
The Election Commission connected Tuesday (November 4, 2025) launched the second signifier of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls successful 9 States and 3 Union Territories, covering astir 51 crore voters, with booth-level officers distributing enumeration forms to electors.
The exercise, however, drew crisp absorption from respective parties. West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress person Mamata Banerjee led a rally successful Kolkata, alleging “silent, invisible rigging”, portion the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) successful Tamil Nadu challenged the workout successful the Supreme Court, calling it “arbitrary, unreasonable, and prone to disenfranchising voters”.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has welcomed the clean-up workout arsenic a measurement towards ensuring greater transparency successful the electoral rolls.
The canvass assemblage said booth-level officers (BLO) person started going door-to-door to manus retired partially filled enumeration forms. Every elector volition person a unsocial form, it said.
During the enumeration phase, which volition proceed till December 4, much than 5.3 lakh BLOs volition sojourn houses astatine slightest thrice for the organisation and postulation of forms.
Apart from the BLOs, 7.64 lakh booth-level agents (BLAs) appointed by governmental parties, 10,448 electoral registration officers and adjunct EROs, and 321 DEOs person been pressed into enactment to behaviour the SIR workout successful a smooth, orderly, and elector affable manner, a elder authoritative said.
The 12 States and Union Territories wherever SIR is being conducted are the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Among these, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, and Puducherry volition spell to the polls successful 2026.
The archetypal signifier of the SIR workout was carried retired successful Bihar earlier this year, pursuing which much than 68 lakh names were deleted from the electoral rolls.
Addressing an anti-SIR rally successful Kolkata, Ms. Banerjee said she would ensure the autumn of the BJP-led authorities astatine the Centre if a azygous eligible elector was omitted from the electoral rolls.
She accused the BJP and the Election Commission of utilizing the SIR arsenic a governmental instrumentality to intimidate voters, adding that the BJP wanted to travel to powerfulness by removing morganatic voters from the list. “These radical deliberation they volition region 2 crore names and deport radical to Bangladesh, oregon determination them to detention camps and propulsion them retired of the state to seizure power,” she said.
The Chief Minister’s march came connected the day, predetermination officials said 16 lakh enumeration forms had been distributed successful the State.
Raising questions astir the necessity of a hurriedly drawn retired SIR, the Trinamool Congress main asked, “Today, aft each these years of independence, bash we inactive person to beryllium that we are Indians?”
Ms. Banerjee said the BJP authorities was elected successful 2024 connected the aforesaid elector database which the BJP claimed was afloat of amerciable voters. “How did you triumph the 2024 Lok Sabha elections? Which elector database did you follow? If the database is faulty past your authorities is besides faulty,” she added.
The Chief Minister targeted Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and asked. “In 2002, Bengal’s past SIR took 2 years to complete. Why this unreserved to decorativeness it successful a period now? Just to marque Modi babu and Amit Shah happy?”
The Leader of the Opposition successful the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, led a BJP rally connected the outskirts of Kolkata, demanding that each Bangladeshi infiltrator should beryllium deported from the state and the SIR workout beryllium afloat undertaken.
In Uttar Pradesh, the workout was launched nether the taxable ‘Shuddh Nirvachak Namavali – Majboot Loktantra’ (Clean Electoral Roll – Strong Democracy).
In Kerala, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has called for an all-party gathering online connected Wednesday to question statement connected the implementation of the SIR. Most governmental parties successful the State — barring the BJP — person raised concerns implicit its timing.
The commission, successful a statement, said electors tin cheque their names and the sanction of their relatives successful the erstwhile SIR electoral rolls astatine https://voters.eci.gov.in/ to supply the details successful the enumeration forms. For assistance, electors tin besides link with their BLOs utilizing the ‘Book-a-call with BLO” installation connected the ECINet App oregon dial the toll-free helpline 1950 on with their STD code.
The draught rolls volition beryllium published connected December 9, aft which claims and objections tin beryllium submitted from December 9 to January 8. Notices volition beryllium issued, and hearings and verifications volition instrumentality spot from December 9 to January 31.
The last electoral rolls volition beryllium published connected February 7.
