CEC Gyanesh Kumar urges citizens to ensure 'error-free' electoral rolls for Phase III of SIR
New Delhi, May 14
Chief Electoral Officer Gyanesh Kumar on Thursday urged citizens to participate enthusiastically for Phase III of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls across 16 States and three Union Territories to ensure a "pure and error-free" voter list.
Speaking on the initiative, CEC Gyanesh Kumar said, "I appeal to all electors to enthusiastically participate in Phase III of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and fill their Enumeration Forms. SIR is being conducted with the objective to ensure that only eligible voters are included in the electoral roll and no ineligible names are included," says CEC Gyanesh Kumar on the launch of SIR Phase III in 16 States and 3 UTs."
Earlier today, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the conduct of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) Phase-III of electoral rolls across 16 States and three Union Territories, covering over 36 crore electors in a phased manner.
According to the press note issued by the Commission, the exercise has been planned in coordination with the ongoing house listing component of the Census to ensure optimal use of field machinery.
It further stated that the revision will cover the entire country under Phase-III, except Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, where the schedule will be announced separately.
"After considering the completion of Phase-ll of the Census in these three State/UTs and due consideration of the weather in the upper reaches/snow bound areas, SIR schedule for these three State/UTs will be announced later," it added.
The poll body said that over 3.94 lakh Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will carry out house-to-house verification work, supported by 3.42 lakh Booth Level Agents (BLAs) appointed by political parties during the enumeration phase.
The ECI emphasised that the exercise is participatory and involves all stakeholders, including electors, political parties and election officials.
It also urged political parties to appoint BLAs for each polling booth to ensure full participation and transparency in the process.
"ECI requests all political parties to appoint BLAs for each Polling Booth, in order to ensure full participation of political parties so that SIR is conducted with complete transparency and full participation of political parties," it said.
The Commission further said that in the earlier two phases of SIR, covering 13 States and UTs, over 59 crore electors were covered with the participation of more than 6.3 lakh BLOs and 9.2 lakh BLAS.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Good initiative but I worry about the implementation. In my village near Trichy, we saw BLOs just copy old data without proper verification last time. Also, why exclude HP, J&K, Ladakh separately? Ladakh especially needs better inclusion given its sparse population. The CEC should ensure political parties appoint BLAs genuinely, not just on paper.
Great to hear about 3.94 lakh BLOs and 3.42 lakh BLAs working together! That's massive manpower. But I'm curious—how many of these are actually independent? In UP, we often see BLAs being appointed by ruling parties. ECI should ensure all parties get equal representation. Still, better rolls mean better democracy 🇮🇳
As someone who works in election management in the US, this approach—linking with Census house listing—makes practical sense. But 36 crore electorate oversight is a massive operation. The real test will be whether duplicate entries get removed effectively. I hope India's digital infrastructure can handle this without glitches.
Pure electoral rolls should be a no-brainer in a democracy. But why is J&K and Ladakh separate? Seems like they need better infrastructure or political will. Meanwhile, in my hometown in Gujarat, BLOs often skip remote hamlets. The CEC's 'error-free' goal is noble, but ground-level corruption must be tackled first.
Happy to see ECI taking voter list purity seriously! In my apartment complex in Bengaluru, we had 50+ duplicate voters last election. But I hope they also make it easier for genuine voters like students
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.