EC reports steady progress of SIR; Opposition flags ‘hasty’ implementation

The Election Commission has claimed that the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was progressing steadily.

According to data released on Sunday, 50.47 crore forms — 99.02 per cent of the targeted elector-specific enumeration forms — have been distributed across 12 states and Union Territories till 3 pm on November 23. However, only 39.29 per cent of these forms have been digitised so far.

Goa, Lakshadweep and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands reported 100% distribution, with Lakshadweep also topping digitisation at 88.20%. Rajasthan reported 99.41% distribution and 65.52% digitisation.

Large states showed uneven progress. Uttar Pradesh distributed 99.60% of its forms but digitised only 19.02%. West Bengal reported 99.75% distribution and 47.72% digitisation, while Gujarat achieved 99.67% coverage with 49.62% digitised. Kerala was the only major state below 98% distribution and digitised just 15.92% of its forms. Tamil Nadu completed 95.96% distribution and digitised 40.40%.

Officials said the enumeration phase will continue till December 4, during which BLOs must complete physical verification and digitisation of elector details.

Meanwhile, the Congress has intensified its attack on the BJP and the EC, flagging a spate of booth- level officers’ (BLOs’) deaths during the SIR. The party alleged that the rushed exercise had created “fear, stress and avoidable loss of life”.

Citing a media report that 16 BLOs have died in 19 days, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the unfolding situation was “reminiscent of demonetisation and the lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic”.

Sharing the report on X, he wrote, “My deepest condolences to every family who has lost a loved one.” He claimed the actual number of deaths was “far higher than reported” and accused the BJP of enjoying the fruits of stolen power, while the Election Commission watched as a mute spectator.

Calling the SIR rollout “hasty, unplanned and forced”, Kharge alleged that the government’s hunger for power was driving institutions to force suicides, shred the Constitution and weaken democracy”.

Rahul Gandhi also targeted the EC in a series of posts, saying the SIR exercise had unleashed “chaos across the country”. “In three weeks, 16 BLOs have lost their lives. Heart attacks, stress, suicides — SIR is no reform, it’s an imposed tyranny,” he wrote.

He further alleged that the EC had created a system where citizens are forced to “flip through thousands of scanned pages of a 22-year-old voter list just to find themselves”, adding that India builds cutting-edge software for the world “but its Election Commission is stuck erecting a jungle of paper”. The intent, he claimed, was to tire the “right voters” and enable “vote theft”.

Accusing the Commission of pushing officials into a 30-day “frenzy”, he said the pressure on BLOs was being treated as “collateral damage”. “This is not a failure, it’s a conspiracy -- a sacrifice of democracy to protect those in power,” he concluded.

Tensions escalated after a BLO in West Bengal’s Nadia district was found hanging at her home on Saturday. Her family blamed SIR-related stress for her death. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called the situation “truly alarming” and released what she described as the officer’s suicide note, which allegedly named the EC. The BJP dismissed the note as “fake”.

Two teachers serving as BLOs in Raisen and Damoh districts of Madhya Pradesh also died on Friday. Officials attributed both deaths to “illness”, though they were engaged in SIR duties at the time.

60 BLOs, seven supervisors booked

• Gautam Buddh Nagar DM Medha Roopam has ordered lodging of FIRs against 60 BLOs and seven supervisors for alleged negligence and non-compliance in the ongoing SIR.
• Besides, two BLOs were suspended for alleged negligence during the SIR of electoral rolls in UP.