ECI directs state CEOs to complete groundwork for SIR of electoral rolls
New Delhi, Oct 23: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has directed Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) across States and Union Territories…
Image: ANI
New Delhi, Oct 23: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has directed Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) across States and Union Territories to finalize all arrangements for the upcoming Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The directive came as the Commission concluded its two-day national conference on SIR preparedness at the India International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Management (IIIDEM) in New Delhi.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, along with Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, chaired the discussions, which included detailed assessments of the progress made since earlier directions.
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The CEOs were instructed to complete the mapping of current electors against data from the previous SIR to ensure accuracy in the voter lists.
The Commission also held individual interactions with the CEOs of poll-bound States and Union Territories such as Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, and West Bengal. Senior ECI officers made presentations on the SIR process, addressing specific queries and operational challenges raised by the officials.
The latest conference followed an earlier review meeting held on September 10, where all States and UTs had presented data on elector strength, qualifying dates, and the status of electoral rolls based on their last SIR.
The nationwide SIR initiative was announced by CEC Gyanesh Kumar after the completion of the revision exercise in Bihar.
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In Bihar, the final electoral roll now includes 7.42 crore voters—down from 7.89 crore recorded in June 2024—after 65 lakh names were removed from the draft list. The revision also saw the deletion of 3.66 lakh ineligible entries and the inclusion of 21.53 lakh new voters through Form 6 applications.
According to the ECI, the current round of review and coordination aims to ensure updated, accurate, and transparent electoral rolls across all States and Union Territories ahead of upcoming elections.
