Early Times Report
Jammu, May 14: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday announced the third phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in 16 states and three Union Territories, beginning May 20, but deferred the schedule for Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Ladakh.
With the poll panel deciding to notify the programme for these three regions at a later date, it is now almost certain that the large-scale voter roll revision exercise will not commence in Jammu and Kashmir this month.
The ECI said the schedule for Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh would be announced after taking into account the completion of Phase-II of the Census and weather conditions in upper and snow-bound areas.
“The SIR schedule for these three State/UTs will be announced later after due consideration of the Census-related work and climatic conditions,” the Commission said.
Even though the formal schedule has not yet been notified, groundwork for the revision is already in progress across Jammu and Kashmir.
Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have started door-to-door visits in several districts to update voter records as part of the pre-revision exercise. Acting on instructions from election authorities, BLOs are replacing blurred and black-and-white photographs in the electoral database with clear colour images to improve voter identification and remove discrepancies.
Officials said the process of capturing fresh photographs and rectifying defects in electoral rolls is nearing completion and is intended to ensure that the formal SIR exercise proceeds smoothly once notified.
The third phase of the Special Intensive Revision will be conducted in a staggered manner in Odisha, Mizoram, Manipur, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh, Telangana, Punjab, Karnataka, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Delhi, Nagaland and Tripura.
According to the ECI, more than 3.94 lakh Booth Level Officers will visit households covering approximately 36.73 crore electors during the enumeration process. They will be assisted by 3.42 lakh Booth Level Agents nominated by political parties.
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 and fill their Enumeration Forms. The objective is to ensure that only eligible voters are included in the electoral rolls and no ineligible names remain,” he said.
The Election Commission described the SIR as a participative and transparent exercise involving electors, political parties and election officials. Political parties have been asked to appoint Booth Level Agents for every polling station to ensure full involvement in the revision process.
In the first two phases of the exercise, conducted in 13 states and Union Territories covering nearly 59 crore electors, more than 6.3 lakh BLOs and 9.2 lakh BLAs were engaged in various stages of the revision.
Once the schedule for Jammu and Kashmir is announced, the Union Territory will undertake a comprehensive verification and purification of its electoral rolls aimed at ensuring that every eligible voter is included and inaccuracies are removed. |