A nationwide revision of the voter list is likely to be done later this year, with the Election Commission asking the Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of all states, Union territories to prepare for such an exercise at the earliest, during a special meeting held on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) held on Wednesday.
The meeting was attended by the election commissions of all states and UTs, which gave presentations on holding the SIR and the time they would take to conduct the electoral roll revision.
All officials have been instructed to begin preparations for the SIR without delay. Once the preparations are complete, the Election Commission will review them, after which the SIR will be conducted across the country, sources said.
After an in-depth review of the submissions and preparations, the apex poll body is expected to announce the date of the voter list revision across the country.
What EC said about meeting on SIR
"The CEOs gave detailed presentations on the number of electors, the qualifying date of the last SIR and the Electoral Roll in their respective states/UT as per the last completed SIR. The CEOs also presented the status of digitisation and uploading of the Electoral Roll after the previous SIR on the State/UT CEO website," an official statement said.
The CEOs also gave the status of mapping of current electors with the electors as per the last SIR in the state/UTs, and in order to ensure that there is a uniform implementation of the commission's initiative to ensure that no polling station has over 1,200 electors, it added.
"The status of rationalisation of polling stations was also reviewed. The CEOs also provided suggested documents for the purpose of ensuring that no eligible citizen is left out of the Electoral Roll and no ineligible person is included in it. It was reiterated that these documents should promote ease of submission for the eligible citizens. The Commission also reviewed the status of appointment and training of DEOs, EROs, AEROs, BLOs and BLAs," the statement said.
Bihar SIR and political row
The Election Commission recently conducted a special voter roll revision in Bihar ahead of the state assembly polls. That exercise will now be extended to all states and Union Territories.
The Bihar revision, which was fast-tracked in view of the upcoming elections, triggered controversy, with the Opposition alleging it was a political move. Parties including the Congress, RJD and Trinamool Congress expressed concern that the drive could result in mass deletions of voters from marginalised groups.
The poll panel has repeatedly defended the SIR, stressing that the exercise is essential to ensure the integrity and accuracy of the electoral rolls.
