Change in SIR schedule in Maha, final electoral roll to be published on Oct 27
Mumbai, Aug 4
The Election Commission of India has revised the schedule for the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls currently underway in Maharashtra, with reference to the qualifying date of October 1.
According to the revised schedule, the house-to-house visitation drive by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will be conducted from June 30 to August 17, 2026. The rationalisation and restructuring of polling stations will be completed on August 17.
The draft electoral roll will be published on August 24, 2026. Claims and objections will be accepted between August 24 and September 23.
The hearing and disposal of the received claims and objections will take place from August 24 to October 22, 2026. After completing all necessary processes, the final electoral roll will be published on October 27, 2026, said the ECI release.
Government sources said that the door-to-door verification drive launched by BLOs on June 30, 2026, was scheduled to conclude on August 8, 2026. With the revised schedule, it will now conclude on August 17.
As of August 3, out of 9.79 crore registered voters, 9.18 crore (93.79 per cent) enumeration forms have been distributed, and 7.13 crore (72.89 per cent) forms have been digitised statewide. Over 100,000 BLOs are deployed across 36 districts.
Wardha and Hingoli have achieved 100 per cent form distribution. Hingoli leads with 90.47 per cent, followed by Ratnagiri (89.86 per cent), Buldhana (89.19 per cent), Yavatmal (87.93 per cent), and Wardha (89 per cent).
Major urban and metro regions continue to lag behind rural districts in both distribution and digitisation progress.
In Thane, 82.33 per cent of forms have been distributed, with the lowest digitisation in the state at 46.55 per cent. Mumbai Suburban has 85.12 per cent distributed and 53.21 per cent digitised, Mumbai City 90.42 per cent distributed and 54.67 per cent digitised, Pune 80.72 per cent distributed and 59.67 per cent digitised, and Nagpur 87.62 per cent distributed and 59.77 per cent digitised.
State Chief Electoral Officer S Chockalingam recently said that the core focus is creating an accurate, updated, and error-free voter list.
He emphasised that doorstep verification by BLOs is crucial to ensure that no eligible voter is left out and ineligible or duplicate entries are systematically removed.
Chockalingam stated that the state election machinery sought an extension of the SIR deadline from the Election Commission of India due to heavy rainfall and the Ashadhi Wari Pilgrimage.
He noted that heavy rains during early July in Mumbai and the Konkan region delayed initial door-to-door visits by BLOs, while the annual Pandharpur pilgrimage required diverting significant administrative personnel and field machinery across districts like Pune, Sangli, and Solapur.
— IANS
Reader Comments
But why are urban districts like Thane and Mumbai Suburban lagging behind in digitisation? It's 2026 and we still can't get basic form digitisation done on time in our biggest cities? The rural districts are doing better. ECI needs to look into urban apathy and logistics.
Doorstep verification is the right approach. In a state as diverse as Maharashtra, many elderly and disabled voters can't visit offices. But 100,000 BLOs for 9.79 crore voters is still a huge task. The extended timeline makes sense.
Transparency in electoral rolls is essential for democracy. Good to see the ECI is taking its time to clean up duplicate entries. Hope the final list is error-free before the elections.
Hingoli at 90.47% and Wardha at 100% distribution - great work by these districts. But why are metro areas like Thane and Pune so slow? City folks are always busy, but BLOs need to make sure no one is left out. Also, Ashadhi Wari is a valid reason - lakhs of people were involved.
One concern - the rationalisation of polling stations is being done alongside the revision. Hope this doesn't cause confusion for voters who may be shifted to new polling booths without proper communication. ECI must ensure every voter knows their updated polling station well in advance.
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.