New Delhi: The Election Commission of India has extended the deadline for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in five states and one Union Territory. The revision period has now been extended until December 14 in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, and until December 18 in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. In Uttar Pradesh, the deadline has been pushed to December 26.
The extension comes in the wake of serious complaints from several states, including reports of BLOs (Booth Level Officers) dying by suicide, allegedly due to intense pressure from senior officials to complete the SIR process quickly. The last date for submitting enumeration forms was initially supposed to end today in six regions, but the deadline has now been extended by one more week.
Kerala had already been granted an extension earlier, citing ongoing local body elections in the state. The new deadline for submitting enumeration forms in Kerala is December 18, and the draft voter list will be published on December 23. The final voter list is scheduled to be released on February 21.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission rejected West Bengal’s request to extend the SIR timeline. In Bengal, the SIR deadline will end tonight as originally scheduled. Reports suggest that around 55 lakh voters have been excluded from the electoral rolls in the state.
