Electoral Roll Update: Why Opposition Parties Are Fighting the SIR Exercise

The BLO in Rashbehari Assembly constituency in West Bengal's Kolkata said that they have been instructed to get the enumeration forms filled within a month.

BLO Rajesh Singh told ANI, "This is the 160-Rashbehari Assembly constituency. We have to distribute and get enumeration forms fulfilled in one month's time."

In Tamil Nadu, District Election Officer and District Collector K. Ilambhagavath inspected the progress of this procedure in urban areas of Thoothukudi, including Amutha Nagar, Millerpuram, NGO Colony, P&T Colony, Tooviepuram, and Meelvittan.

The distribution of enumeration forms marks the beginning of the SIR exercise covering the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.

Election Commission of India (ECI) had announced the second phase of the SIR exercise on October 27, with the final voter list to be published on February 7, 2026.

According to the Election Commission, printing and training took place from October 28 to November 3, followed by an Enumeration Phase from November 4 to December 4.

The Draft Electoral Rolls will be published on December 9, followed by a claims and objection period from December 9 to January 8, 2026. The Notice Phase (for hearing and verification) will take place between December 9 and January 31, 2026, with publication of Final Electoral Rolls on February 7, 2026.

Drawing on experience from the first phase of SIR in Bihar, the ECI has also decided that the Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will visit households up to three times for the matching and linking of forms.

"If the elector is not available or there is a delay in matching and linking, the BLOs will visit the houses a total of three times. Electors can also fill out the forms online. If their names, or their father's or mother's names, were not available on the 2003 list, the ERO will determine eligibility based on the indicative documents," Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said in the press conference on October 27.

However, the exercise attracted opposition in the States of West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.

Trinamool Congress national general secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee said that the party will take the fight against the SIR to Delhi if even a single eligible voter is removed from West Bengal's rolls, accusing the BJP and the ECI of acting in tandem to deprive the state of its identity.

The ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu has moved to the Supreme Court seeking the quashing of the October 27 notification of the ECI.

- ANI