SIR: ECI requests BLOs to revisit the deleted list and ensure that those who are eligible but left out are re-enrolled within a month

In a letter to CEOs of all states and UTs, the ECI said Cabinet Level Officers (BLOs) should prepare a list of voters whose names have been omitted and then conduct door-to-door visits to ascertain their current status and ensure their registration through Form 6 if the person is found eligible. | Photo credit: J ALLEN EGENUSE

The Election Commission has directed the Chief Electoral Officers of all states and Union Territories where special intensive revision has been completed or is underway to compare the pre-SIR voter lists with the existing ones and enroll those who were omitted but are eligible within one month.

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“The BLO will compare the current voter list with the pre-SIR voter list and identify such voters whose names were mentioned in the pre-SIR voter list but are not included in the current voter list and prepare a list of such voters,” the letter said.

It further states that BLOs will conduct door-to-door (H2H) visits in respect of these identified voters to ascertain their current status and facilitate enrollment through Form 6, whether the person is found eligible.

The ECI letter, which was issued after a video conference with all the CEOs, suggested that the BLOs can cover at least 20-25 voters per week to complete the exercise within a period of about one month. “They shall also indicate the present status of each such voter in the list prepared by them. The voters for whom Form 6 has been filled shall also be indicated.”

BLOs will share this list with BLAs of recognized political parties and EROs along with the completed Form 6 application forms and their field verification report.

In addition, Booth Level Camps will be organized to facilitate enrollment applications. Special camps can also be organized to recruit people living in hostels, labor colonies as well as homeless and marginalized people.

So far, approximately 13.3 million names have been removed from electoral rolls in states where the SIR process has been completed or is ongoing.

An analysis by The Hindu found that around 2.7 million or 21% were declared dead and of the remaining around 1.01 million were marked as multiple entry cases and 9.5 million were marked as absent/shifted/other. This effectively means that 72% of voters whose names were deleted could be back on the electoral rolls after the SIR process is completed.

The EC has already announced a special drive to register new voters at its meeting on September 26. “Voter registration is a continuous process and any person who is not yet registered in the electoral roll or whose name has been deleted can apply for registration at any time. The purpose of this special drive is to identify and facilitate such voters,” the new note said.

However, former Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi questioned the EC’s move to re-register voters using Form 6.

He said Form 6 cannot be filled by a deleted voter. “It’s for NEW voters only. All who were forced to fill it out committed a crime punishable by one year in prison. The EC officials who forced them are thugs. This press release shows ECI facilitation!” he said in a post on X.

Senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram said that SIR led to the exclusion of many millions of voters “rapidly” and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar spent several crores of rupees to exclude 13,30,00,000 voters and is now spending crores of rupees to include them!

As part of the SIR process, a list of absent, shifted, dead and duplicate voters (ASDD) was prepared by each Booth Level Officer (BLO) at the enumeration stage with probable cause for not mentioning their names. This list has been displayed on the notice boards of concerned local bodies and Panchayat Bhawans/Urban offices and offices of BDOs/Panchayat Officers/ULBs, shared with BLAs and political parties and also uploaded on the CEO’s website. The proposal was then published and shared with political parties and also uploaded to the CEO’s website. The final list of voters was published after the ERO’s decision on claims and objections and contains a list of voters who were added or deleted after the proposal was published.

Published – October 2, 2026 11:02 AM IST