A day after the Election Commission (EC) asked the remaining states to begin preparatory work for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in April, sources in Maharashtra indicated that the state may seek a postponement, citing a clash with Census work, The Indian Express has learned.
On Thursday, the EC wrote to Chief Electoral Officers of 22 States and Union Territories, asking them to complete all preparatory work related to the SIR at the earliest, as the exercise “is expected to start from April 2026”. The preparatory work includes mapping existing voters with the electoral roll of 2002–2004, when the last SIR was conducted, and training booth-level officers (BLOs) to carry out the exercise.
However, on Wednesday, a state-level conference on preparedness for Census 2027 was held in Mumbai, which was joined digitally by Registrar General and Census Commissioner (RGCC) Mrityunjay Kumar Narayan. During the conference, Additional Chief Secretary Seema Vyas announced that Census 2027 will be conducted in two phases.
The first phase, involving house-listing and housing census, will take place from May 16 to June 14, 2026. Prior to this, a self-enumeration facility will be available from May 1 to May 15, 2026. She noted that preparations for Census 2027 in the state are in the final stages and that the training process has commenced.
Sources within the office of Maharashtra’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) informed The Indian Express that undertaking SIR in April 2026 will be difficult. “The school exams continue till first or second week of April and teachers, who will participate in SIR will be busy. Later, the same government employees will be busy with ground work for Census. The SIR and Census work cannot be done at the same time,” an official from the office of the CEO told The Indian Express.
Approximately 2.64 lakh enumerators and supervisors will record data directly into the Census Management and Monitoring System using their mobile devices, thereby avoiding delays in data collection. Maharashtra Chief Secretary Rajesh Aggarwal also mentioned that a self-enumeration facility will be made available to citizens before the arrival of enumerators.
When contacted, Maharashtra CEO S Chockalingam declined to comment.
The SIR exercise involves door-to-door verification, removal of duplicate or ineligible entries, and inclusion of eligible voters who may have been left out of the rolls. Its rollout, however, has been marred by controversy since the first phase in Bihar, initiated in June last year. The exercise initially raised fears of exclusion over the number of documents the poll panel was seeking from existing voters to remain on the electoral roll. However, once the matter reached the Supreme Court, the top court’s interventions allayed some of these concerns by allowing Aadhaar to be considered as proof of eligibility.
Story continues below this ad
The second leg of the SIR was rolled out in 12 states and Union Territories last last year and is currently underway. This phase, too, has seen glitches, forcing the Commission to repeatedly extend deadlines for verification and for the disposal of claims, objections and appeals regarding inclusion and exclusion from the draft electoral roll. The sharpest confrontation has been between the EC and the West Bengal government, prompting the Supreme Court to step in on multiple occasions to bridge what it described as a trust deficit between the two.
On Friday, the Supreme Court asked the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court to appoint judicial officers to decide claims and objections in the ongoing SIR exercise in West Bengal, noting an unfortunate blame game between the state government and the Election Commission of India.
Even as the exercise in the 12 states is yet to conclude, the Commission has now asked the remaining 22 States and Union Territories to prepare for conducting the SIR in April (the same time the first phase of the Census exercise is set to begin), raising concerns of administrative overlap and confusion in Maharashtra.
Alok Deshpande is a Special Correspondent with The Indian Express' Mumbai bureau, recognized for his focused and authoritative reporting on governance, politics, and the socio-economic dynamics of Maharashtra's hinterlands. His unique academic background in Geology and early work in the water sector provides a specialized layer of Expertise to his reporting on resource and environmental issues.
Expertise
Current Role: Special Correspondent, The Indian Express, Mumbai.
Core Authority: Alok provides detailed coverage of Maharashtra politics and governance, with a particular emphasis on how policies and power struggles affect the rural and semi-urban areas (the 'hinterlands').
Key Coverage Areas: His reports frequently focus on high-stakes administrative and political topics, including:
State Assembly Proceedings: In-depth reporting on the Legislative Assembly, covering ministerial statements, legislative debates, and inter-party conflict within the ruling Mahayuti alliance.
Policy & Finance: Coverage of state finances, including supplementary budget demands, fiscal deficits, and major government schemes (e.g., Jal Jeevan Mission, Ladki Bahin Yojana).
Rural and Social Issues: Reports on critical health issues (e.g., child deaths in districts), human-animal conflict (leopard attacks, stray dogs), and agrarian concerns (e.g., farmer suicides).
Local and Urban Governance: Covers major announcements regarding urban development (e.g., BMC's OC amnesty scheme, pagdi system push) and local body elections, including political defections and alliance splits.
Unique Credentials & Trustworthiness
Academic Specialization: Holds a Post-graduate degree in Geology. This background gives him a foundational understanding of natural resources, which directly informs his reporting on environment, water, and infrastructure projects.
Early Professional Experience: His shift to journalism came after working with an NGO focused on the water sector. This practical experience strengthens his Expertise in critical areas like water management and rural development, as evidenced by his reporting on the Jal Jeevan Mission.
Journalism Training: An alumnus of the prestigious Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai, confirming his formal training and commitment to rigorous journalistic standards.
Alok Deshpande's rare combination of scientific education, non-profit sector experience, and deep political reporting makes him a highly trusted and authoritative voice on the governance and ground realities of Maharashtra.
He tweets @alokdesh ... Read More
