Full Breakdown
Election Commission launches special drive to re-enrol voters omitted after SIR
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Event – Nationwide special enrolment drive
On September 29, the Election Commission of India (ECI) issued a directive for a “special drive” in the 20 states and Union Territories where the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls had been completed. The drive aims to enrol “left-out eligible voters,” including first-time voters who have turned 18, and to verify those whose names were removed during SIR. Implementation varies by state: Maharashtra is holding college-based camps from October 5-9 and polling-station camps on October 10-11; Uttar Pradesh has launched a door-to-door verification campaign; West Bengal’s Booth Level Officers (BLOs) are preparing for training after the Durga Puja holidays.
Background & Context – The SIR exercise and its fallout
SIR cleans electoral rolls by marking voters as Absentee, Shifted, Deceased or Duplicate (ASDD). In West Bengal, the final roll published on February 28 showed 63.66 lakh voters deleted and about 1.9 lakh added. In Uttar Pradesh, a *Free Press Journal* report claimed 2.89 crore voters were deleted in January 2026, prompting public outcry; 84.3 lakh were later added back and 16.18 lakh remained “completely untraceable.”
Data & Statistics
- West Bengal deletions: 63.66 lakh; additions: ~1.9 lakh.
- Uttar Pradesh deletions (alleged): 2.89 crore; reinstated: 84.3 lakh; untraceable: 16.18 lakh.
- Maharashtra camps: Oct 5-9 (colleges); Oct 10-11 (polling stations); claims-and-objections ends Oct 12.
Official Statements & Responses
A senior ECI official clarified that BLOs will not need to visit every applicant’s house; District Electoral Officers will organise camps where Form 6 can be submitted online or in person, with physical verification only when required. The Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer directed district officers to complete door-to-door verification within about a month, emphasizing outreach to night-shelter residents, labour colonies and homeless groups.
Criticism & Opposition – BLO concerns
A letter from BLOs blamed the ECI’s automated system for “logical discrepancies” that led to mass deletions and noted that Supreme Court-ordered tribunals had left many cases unresolved.
On-the-Ground Reports – BLO testimonies
- Md Sahabuddin Mondol (BLO, Barasat) said his booth had 1,279 voters before SIR, 120 were marked ASDD, and 586 cases were referred to tribunals, of which 86 had been deleted.
- Pinki Jaiswal (BLO, Kolkata) reported 191 deletions in her booth, 100 as dead, with many shifted voters moving to Bihar.
Verbatim Quotes
- “To facilitate large-scale registration of young voters, special voter registration camps are being organised in all colleges and universities across Maharashtra from October 5 to 9,” — Office
- “All I am hearing is that there will be training. Only after that can I tell you anything.” — Habibur Rehman
What’s Next – Timeline and pending actions
- Oct 5-9: Maharashtra college registration camps.
- Oct 10-11: Maharashtra polling-station camps.
- Until Oct 12: Claims and objections period for Maharashtra applicants.
- Post-Durga Puja (late Oct): Training sessions for West Bengal BLOs.
- Ongoing: Uttar Pradesh door-to-door verification, expected to finish within a month of the October 1, 2026 directive.
The special drive represents the ECI’s effort to rectify deletions identified during SIR, while ground-level officers grapple with procedural ambiguities.