Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Oct 27: Chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Monday announced that following a successful voter verification exercise, the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls will now be conducted in 12 states and Union Territories, with their respective voter lists set to be locked tonight.
Addressing a press briefing, the CEC congratulated election officials and voters in Bihar, where the SIR process was completed successfully, and elaborated on the purpose and procedures behind the voter list “purification drive.”
He said that since Independence, the SIR has been undertaken eight times between 1951 and 2004, with the last one conducted in 2004. The initiative, he said, responds to repeated demands from political parties to ensure that only eligible and legitimate voters are included in electoral rolls.
The CEC underscored the importance of periodically cleansing voter lists to remove duplicate names, eliminate entries of deceased individuals, and update records of those who have shifted residence permanently.
Explaining the process, Gyanesh Kumar said that enumeration forms will be printed and distributed across the 12 participating states, and their electoral rolls will be frozen on Monday night. He hinted at a future nationwide rollout of the SIR after the Bihar pilot’s success.
Each polling station typically covers around 1,000 voters, with 300–400 polling stations per Assembly constituency under the supervision of an Electoral Registration Officer (ERO). Booth Level Officers (BLOs), working under EROs, will visit households three times to distribute forms and help voters verify or update their details through digital linking with past records.
“If there has been no change since 2003, no linking with old EPIC cards is required,” the CEC clarified. “However, those whose records are not linked to previous data must submit valid supporting documents.”
He said that draft and final voter lists will be published by EROs and Deputy EROs, ensuring that the updated rolls are accurate and error-free.
The CEC also urged all six national political parties to appoint their own BLOs and instructed Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs), District Electoral Officers (DROs), and EROs to hold detailed consultations with political parties to explain the objectives and methods of the voter list cleansing exercise.