Election Commission Extends SIR Date For 6 States, No Change For Bengal

The duration of the special intensive revision (SIR) exercise to clean up voter rolls has been extended in five states and a Union Territory, the Election Commission said today. They are Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The enumeration period for Goa, Gujarat, Lakshadweep, Rajasthan and West Bengal ended today with no extension given by the Election Commission. The draft electoral roll of these four states will be published on December 16, the EC said.

After Bihar, the next showdown between the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and Opposition parties will happen in Bengal, where the election is due early next year. 

The revised deadlines for enumeration are: Tamil Nadu and Gujarat (December 14); Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands (December 18), and Uttar Pradesh (December 26).

The revised dates for publication of draft rolls are December 19 for Tamil Nadu and Gujarat; December 23 for Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and December 31 for Uttar Pradesh.

Before the latest extension, the EC had revised the schedule for Kerala, where enumeration would end on December 18 and draft electoral roll would be published on December 23.

NDTV yesterday reported that the EC is likely to extend the SIR deadline for Uttar Pradesh and several other states.

The extension comes amid strong criticism from Opposition parties, who accused the EC of enforcing "impractical" deadlines that were overburdening booth-Level officers (BLOs) and inconveniencing voters.

The Congress, Trinamool Congress, CPI(M) and Samajwadi Party at an all-party meeting said the EC ignored ground realities and pushed ahead with a rushed revision schedule.

Congress leader Pramod Tiwari asked the poll body to adopt the more comprehensive schedule used during the 2003 revision and warned that avoiding discussions on SIR in Parliament showed the government was "unwilling to let Parliament function."

Till earlier this week, EC data showed 50.8 crore enumeration forms have already been digitised. Around 23.22 lakh forms are still pending. A total of 50.96 crore forms were distributed since the second phase of the SIR began on November 4.