Maharashtra SEC asks ECI to delay voter roll revision until after local body elections

Time of India

2 days ago

Citing staff shortage and pressure on the election machinery, the
State Election Commission
(SEC) has requested the
Election Commission of India
(ECI) to conduct the proposed
special intensive revision
(SIR) of
electoral rolls in Maharashtra
only after the upcoming
local body elections
.
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In a letter sent through the chief electoral officer (CEO)'s office in the last week of July, state election commissioner Dinesh Waghmare said that ward formation and electoral roll bifurcation for the local body elections would soon begin. 'This will require staff. The local body polls are likely to be held after Diwali. Keeping all this in mind, we have put in the request in advance and are awaiting a response,' Waghmare told TOI.
Local body elections are pending across Maharashtra in 29 municipal corporations, 290 nagar panchayats and parishads, 32 zilla parishads, and 336 panchayat samitis, as the terms of these bodies have expired. While the ECI had directed all states to align with its nationwide SIR plan — currently underway in Bihar — no specific schedule has yet been announced for Maharashtra.
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According to senior election officials, such intensive revisions are rare, typically carried out every 20–25 years. The last such revision in Maharashtra was done in 2002, and data from that year has been shared with the CEO office to serve as the cut-off for verification. Bihar is currently using 2003 data for its ongoing revision ahead of assembly elections.
The revision process involves booth level officers (BLOs) verifying every voter at their residence. 'Every voter has to be verified. Those whose names appeared in the 2002 revision will only need to sign a confirmation form. But those added later must provide proof of residence and citizenship,' a senior official said. This step helps identify voters who may have died or permanently relocated.
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Verification is conducted via a mobile application provided by the CEO office, which is also training BLOs in both summary and intensive revision procedures.
Another official said the
Bihar model of SIR
is expected to be adopted in other states. This includes pre-printed enumeration forms and categorisation of voters into three age-based groups: born before 1987, between 1987 and 2004, and after 2004. A standard list of 11 documents will be used for verification, with state-specific exemptions as needed.
Political observers noted that conducting the revision ahead of the local body polls would have ensured more accurate voter rolls. 'The SEC is now using the CEO list that was used during the assembly polls. There could have been many discrepancies, which need to be corrected,' one observer said, adding that further delay in holding local elections was not viable.