NEW DELHI: Election Commission on Sunday extended the timeline for SIR Phase 2 across all 12 states and Union territories, allowing an additional week to booth level officers (BLOs) to share the list of absent, shifted, dead and duplicate electors with booth level agents (BLAs) of political parties prior to publication of the draft electoral roll, so as to ensure full transparency.The enumeration period will now continue till Dec 11 instead of the earlier Dec 4. The draft electoral roll will be published on Dec 16 instead of Dec 9. Claims and objections can be submitted until Jan 15, 2026, and final roll will be out on Feb 14 (Feb 7 earlier).The stretching of all legs of SIR comes amid reports of alleged malpractices in states. Instances include submission of enumeration forms by ineligible persons or illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in the name of dead electors, and login credentials of dead BLOs being misused to upload EFs signed in the name of dead electors.Next polls due only in April-May, EC can stretch SIR by a week Even though these cases may be limited, there is a view that sharing the list of absent, permanently shifted, dead and duplicate entries with the parties through their BLAs even before the draft rolls are published will allow rival parties an opportunity to object to any incorrect findings. They can also point out attempts to sneak in ineligible persons into the draft roll through impersonation of dead voters.An official said since the next round of assembly polls in five states/UT, including West Bengal, is due only in April-May 2026, the poll authority has time to stretch SIR by a week if it helps ensure a perfect electoral roll. Any errors or anomalies can be corrected in advance, minimising doubts, apprehensions and complaints after the draft rolls are published, the official underlined.Incidentally, the extension in SIR timeline comes even as the enumeration exercise is well on track, with EFs of 84.3% electors across 12 states/UTs collected by far. The EF collection stands at 100% in Lakshadweep, 96.6% in Goa, 95.6% in Rajasthan, 95.2% in West Bengal, 92.7% in Madhya Pradesh, 92.1% in Puducherry, 88.7% in Chhattisgarh, 87.6% in Tamil Nadu, 86% in Gujarat, 83.6% in Andaman & Nicobar, 81.2% in Kerala and 69.5% in UP. EC officials said the progress of work in all five states/UT due for polls in mid-2026, including West Bengal, is satisfactory.As regards UP, they underlined that assembly poll is due there only in mid-2027, giving EC ample scope to extend the timeline further specifically for the state.
