Pan-India SIR: ECI to announce first phase dates today; 10-15 states to be covered

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission volition connected Monday denote the archetypal signifier of the pan-India peculiar intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, covering 10-15 states/UTs, including poll-bound West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry. Sources successful the canvass assemblage said the archetypal signifier volition permission retired states similar Maharashtra, wherever section assemblage elections are to beryllium held by Jan 31, 2026, arsenic per Supreme Court directives, arsenic good arsenic the snow-bound states/UTs of J&K, Himachal, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Ladakh. The past intensive revision of electoral rolls successful India was undertaken 2 decades ago. Ahead of the EC presser, Tamil Nadu CM and DMK main M K Stalin accused BJP of "plotting to region names from elector list" up of authorities polls, arsenic successful

Bihar

. "It (SIR) deprived astir 65 lakh voters successful poll-bound Bihar of their voting rights," helium alleged.Unlike Bihar, pan-India SIR to beryllium announced astatine property conscionable DMK and different INDIA bloc parties person warned that BJP govt is "attempting to usage EC arsenic its puppet to replicate the aforesaid successful Tamil Nadu", Stalin said successful a missive to the enactment cadre. "BJP and its state AIADMK judge that if the names of voters from the moving class, minorities, scheduled castes, women and the mediocre are deleted done SIR, they tin unafraid triumph without facing the people. But this calculation volition neglect successful Tamil Nadu," helium said.

Unlike Bihar, wherever EC launched SIR with a written order, the pan-India workout volition beryllium announced astatine a property conference, allowing immoderate queries and doubts to beryllium addressed connected the spot. Sources indicated that the nationwide SIR shall beryllium announced and conducted successful stages, with 3 wide categories of states/UTs apt to witnesser the workout later. These see states/UTs that volition soon beryllium successful the grip of harsh wintertime and snow; ones wherever section assemblage polls are owed implicit the adjacent 3 months and which are held with electoral rolls prepared arsenic per provisions of the Representation of the People Act; and wherever astatine slightest 75%-80% of the electorate has already been mapped by matching existent electors with entries successful the rotation from the past intensive revision, requiring lone the remaining 20% oregon truthful to taxable documents to beryllium their eligibility arsenic per Article 326 of the Constitution. EC sources said the database of documents to beryllium accepted arsenic impervious of eligibility volition much oregon little stay the aforesaid arsenic successful Bihar and volition lone beryllium indicative and not exhaustive. Aadhaar volition lone beryllium accepted arsenic impervious of identity. Going by the three-month SIR docket followed successful Bihar, the enrolment signifier for the archetypal signifier of SIR - requiring the elector to motion the enrolment signifier and, wherever required, taxable impervious of eligibility - whitethorn commencement connected Nov 1 and the last rotation published, aft settling claims and objections to the draught roll, by Jan extremity oregon opening of Feb. The groundwork for the upcoming countrywide SIR - the intent for which was announced by EC successful its June 24 notification for SIR successful Bihar - has been nether mode for the past 2 months, with 2 abstracted conferences of main electoral officers held by EC successful Sept and Oct. The past CEOs league connected Oct 22-23 saw EC assessing the preparedness of each state/UT CEO offices, peculiarly advancement of the mapping of their existent electors with the rotation from the past intensive revision. With Bihar having shown the way, sources said, CEOs are amended prepared for the SIR and the EC's assured of pulling disconnected a cleaner, error-free electoral rotation aft removing duplicate entries, amerciable immigrants, and dormant oregon shifted voters. All state/UT rolls are digitised and map-ped with the rotation from the past SIR, with 50%-70% electors already linked to it; booth level officers person been trained and parties urged to name capable booth level agents.