The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday announced the rollout of Phase III of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across 16 states and three Union Territories, excluding Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh for the time being.
As part of the exercise, more than 3.94 lakh Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will conduct door-to-door visits covering nearly 36.73 crore electors during the Enumeration Phase. They will be assisted by 3.42 lakh Booth Level Agents (BLAs) appointed by various political parties.
Officials said the SIR schedule has been synchronised with the ongoing house-listing operations under the national Census to ensure better coordination and efficient deployment of field-level administrative machinery.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar urged voters to actively participate in the exercise.
“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," he said.
He added that the primary objective of the exercise is to ensure that only eligible voters remain on the electoral rolls while preventing the inclusion of ineligible names.
The ECI said that after the completion of Phase III, the entire country would be covered under the revision exercise except Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
According to the poll body, a separate schedule for these three regions will be announced later after considering the completion of Phase II of the Census, as well as weather-related challenges, especially in high-altitude and snow-bound areas.
The Commission said the rollout in these regions has been deferred due to operational difficulties and terrain-related constraints, adding that the schedule will be announced once conditions become suitable for field deployment.
The SIR exercise is being carried out by the Election Commission as part of its periodic effort to update and purify electoral rolls ahead of upcoming elections in several states.
The process involves door-to-door verification of voters, collection of Enumeration Forms and scrutiny of entries to identify duplicate, shifted, deceased or otherwise ineligible voters while ensuring eligible citizens are not left out of the rolls.
The ECI has increasingly relied on Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and Booth Level Agents (BLAs) for such large-scale verification drives, particularly in states witnessing rapid urbanisation, migration and demographic changes.
