• EC gives excluded electors another chance in seven states.
• Fresh enumeration forms to be issued through BLOs.
• Booth-wise exclusion lists to be displayed and uploaded online.
• Congress calls the decision a “U-turn” and renews its demand to scrap SIR.

GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 7th Nov: The SIR voter rolls exercise has received a fresh directive from the Election Commission, giving electors in seven states another opportunity to get their names included in the final electoral rolls. The decision covers people categorised as Absent, Shifted, Dead and Duplicate (ASDD), whose enumeration forms were issued but not received back during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

In a communication dated November 6, the Commission asked the chief electoral officers of Delhi, Maharashtra, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Telangana and Nagaland to facilitate the inclusion of eligible electors who were left out of the draft rolls.

The Commission has directed officials to provide fresh enumeration forms to these electors and make every possible effort to contact them through Booth Level Officers (BLOs). The outreach will include house-to-house visits, WhatsApp messages, emails and SMS.

Booth-wise lists of the affected electors, along with the reasons for their exclusion, will be displayed again at polling stations and designated local government offices. The lists will also be uploaded on the websites of the respective chief electoral officers.

Applications received under the process will be scrutinised by Electoral Registration Officers in accordance with Rule 21(1) of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.

Applications accepted by the authorities will be kept separately for inclusion in the final electoral roll. The electors will retain their previous Elector Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers.

The decision comes amid continuing political disagreement over the SIR exercise. Opposition parties have accused the Election Commission of removing the names of eligible citizens from electoral rolls at the behest of the BJP. The Commission has defended the revision, citing its validation by the Supreme Court, while the BJP has rejected the Opposition’s criticism.

The Congress described the latest opportunity given to excluded electors as a “U-turn” and termed it a belated admission of wrongful deletion and exclusion. The party also renewed its demand for the resignation or removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and called for the SIR exercise to be scrapped.

In its response, the Congress questioned the need for repeated orders and clarifications, arguing that the process had caused unnecessary difficulties for citizens. It also alleged that the latest directions exposed the intent behind the exercise.

The issue of providing another opportunity to people left out during the SIR is also being heard by the Supreme Court.