Bengaluru: After Bihar, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has begun preparations for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists in Delhi and Karnataka. The exact dates for the SIR will be announced later. In this regard, the office of the Chief Electoral Officer of Delhi stated that those whose names are not in the 2002 voter list will be required to provide proof of identity when submitting their enumeration forms.
The statement said, “The general public is informed that the Commission has decided to initiate the Special Intensive Revision across the country in order to discharge its constitutional responsibility to protect the integrity of the electoral rolls.” The statement added that as part of this comprehensive process, a special revision drive will be conducted in the national capital.
2002 Voter List Uploaded Online
In a social media post, the Delhi CEO also uploaded the 2002 voter list online and linked current assembly constituencies to the 2002 constituencies, to help voters find out if their (or their parents’) names appear on the old list.
SIR Preparations Underway in Karnataka
Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer V. Anbu Kumar has stated that preparations for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists in Karnataka are underway and will begin once the Election Commission of India (ECI) announces dates for the state. Speaking at a media workshop in Bengaluru on Wednesday, he said that preparations for the SIR in Karnataka have been underway for the past month.
He said, “The training of 58,000 block-level officers in cities and villages will be completed by September 23, and we are ready to proceed with the SIR once the Election Commission announces the dates.”
Anbu Kumar said the purpose of this exercise is to ensure that no eligible voter is left out and no ineligible voter is included in the voter list. He said, “The last SIR will serve as the cut-off date and the data will be used for reference.
When was the last SIR conducted in Karnataka?
The last SIR in Karnataka was conducted in 2002. The voter lists after the last SIR (2002) have already been published on the Election Commission’s website.” He further said that there were 34 million voters in 2002, which has now increased to 54 million, and they will match the current 2025 data with the 2002 data to detect any discrepancies.
’12 Documents Will Be Valid’
He said, “BLOs will go door-to-door with two pre-filled enumeration forms containing unique QR codes. They will verify each voter’s citizenship, including their identity. Voters will be required to provide one of the 12 listed documents, including their Aadhaar card, to establish their place or date of birth. After verification, the BLO will hand over one enumeration form, signed by them, to the voter as an acknowledgement and submit the other to the Election Commission, which will be uploaded to its server.”
Action Against Those Providing False Information
He stated that signing the declaration is mandatory and warned that criminal charges could be filed against those providing false information. He said that voters with multiple entries will be identified using technology. He said, “If the photo and demographic entries of two voters match up to 65 percent, they will be identified and verified.”
After the door-to-door enumeration, BLOs will prepare a list of absentee, deceased, and migrant voters, as well as potential duplicate voters. After supervisory scrutiny by electoral registration officers and the Chief Executive Officer, a draft voter list will be published, inviting claims and objections, and then the final voter list will be published. He said the SIR process will be completed within the stipulated timeframe and will take three months.
