EC releases revised SIR schedule for electoral rolls
NEW DELHI: The Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday released a revised schedule for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in six states, updating the dates for draft publication and final electoral rolls.The revised schedule covers Delhi, Karnataka, Telangana, Punjab, Haryana and Andhra Pradesh. The exercise is being carried out with different qualifying dates for voters in each state.For Delhi, where the qualifying date is July 1, the draft electoral roll will now be published on August 17, while the final electoral roll will be published on October 19.The same schedule will apply to Karnataka, where the qualifying date is October 1. The draft roll will be published on August 17 and the final roll on October 19.For Telangana, also with a qualifying date of October 1, the draft electoral roll will be published on August 10, while the final roll will be released on October 12.In Punjab, where the qualifying date is October 1, the draft electoral roll will be published on August 13 and the final roll on October 12.For Haryana and Andhra Pradesh, both with a qualifying date of July 1, the draft electoral rolls will now be published on July 31, while the final electoral rolls will be released on October 3. The revised schedule follows the Election Commission’s earlier decision to extend the ongoing SIR exercise in Andhra Pradesh and Haryana by 10 days, allowing voters more time to submit their enumeration forms.Under the extension, booth level officers (BLOs) will continue house-to-house visits until July 24 to collect enumeration forms. Earlier, the deadline had been set for July 14.The EC had also revised the timeline for claims and objections in these two states. Voters can now file claims and objections between July 31 and August 30, while their disposal will continue until September 28. The final electoral rolls for both states will be published on October 3, instead of the earlier scheduled date of September 22.The poll panel has said the Special Intensive Revision aims to update electoral rolls by including eligible voters and removing duplicate, deceased, shifted, absent and foreign voters. The Phase 3 SIR exercise is currently underway in 16 states and three Union Territories.The Election Commission has also made it mandatory for new applicants seeking inclusion in the electoral rolls through Form 6 to provide details related to their parents’ SIR records. According to EC officials, the declaration will help map electors more efficiently and reduce the number of supporting documents required from new voters. Officials said applicants using the online Form 6 portal will not be able to complete their application without filling in the declaration.
