Maharashtra SIR: 50-70% of forms distributed in Pune city; some residents say no BLO has contacted them

The first phase of the exercise was scheduled to conclude on July 29. However, the Election Commission has extended it until August 8.

3 min readPuneJul 29, 2026 06:37 PM IST

Booth Level Officers check and collect enumeration forms as voters arrive to submit them for the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls at Sion, koliwada, Mumbai. (Express Photo By Ganesh Shirsekar)

Only 50-70 per cent of enumeration forms for the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls had been distributed in Pune city’s Assembly constituencies as of July 28, according to data accessed by The Indian Express. With the August 8 deadline for the door-to-door distribution and verification phase approaching, authorities are struggling to complete the exercise on time.

The SIR in Maharashtra began on June 30, and the first phase, involving the distribution and verification of enumeration forms, was originally scheduled to conclude on July 29. However, the Election Commission extended the deadline to August 8 due to delays in urban areas, partly caused by incessant rain during the first week of July.

Among the urban constituencies, Bhosari recorded the highest distribution rate at 71.33 per cent, while Hadapsar had the lowest at 54.88 per cent.

Voters in some residential societies complained that no Booth Level Officers (BLOs) had reached out to them. Manmohan Bahadur, a resident of Clover Highlands in the NIBM area, said BLOs had not visited any residents in his building.

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“I think they are sitting at some centralised place. We came to know about it through someone who had found out. So now I’m going to see if that person is sitting there. But I thought the BLOs were supposed to visit the societies.”

The Indian Express had previously reported that BLOs were asking residents to travel to designated locations where SIR camps were being held to get their enumeration forms filled.

Minal Kalaskar, Deputy District Election Officer, said, “In many cases, the addresses are incomplete, so the BLOs are not able to visit the locations. The SIR camps have not been formed officially. What is being done is that if there are four BLOs in a polling centre area, two sit at the polling station for a day while the other two conduct door-to-door visits. They switch roles the next day.”

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“We request people that if they have not been contacted by their BLOs, they should reach out to them at the polling stations or call them using the numbers made available on the Pune district website,” she added.

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Kalaskar also said that around 15 to 20 lakh voters in Pune are expected to fall under the absent, shifted, deceased, or duplicate categories.

“We have completed two rounds of panchanama for these voters. These names may get deleted,” she said, adding that the final distribution figures for Pune’s urban areas are expected to reach around 70 per cent.

Under the SIR process, BLOs are required to visit a voter’s residence three times. If the voter is unavailable during the first visit, they are required to paste a notice at the residence as part of the panchanama process.

Soham Shah

Soham Shah is a Correspondent with The Indian Express, based in Pune. A journalism graduate with a background in fact-checking, he brings a meticulous and research-oriented approach to his current reporting. Professional Background Role: Correspondent coverig education and city affairs in Pune. Specialization: His primary beat is education, but he also maintains a strong focus on civic issues, public health, human rights, and state politics. Key Strength: Soham focuses on data-driven reporting on school and college education, government reports, and public infrastructure. Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) His late 2025 work highlights a transition from education-centric reporting to hard-hitting investigative and human-rights stories: 1. Investigations & Governance "Express Impact: Mother's name now a must to download birth certificate from PMC site" (Dec 20, 2025): Reporting on a significant policy change by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) following his earlier reports on gender inclusivity in administrative documents. "44-Acre Mahar Land Controversy: In June, Pune official sought land eviction at Pawar son firm behest" (Nov 9, 2025): An investigative piece on real estate irregularities involving high-profile political families. 2. Education & Campus Life Faculty crisis at SPPU hits research, admin work: 62% of govt-sanctioned posts vacant, over 75% in many depts (Sept 12, 2025): An investigative piece on professor vacancies at Savitribai Phule Pune University. "Maharashtra’s controversial third language policy: Why National Curriculum Framework recommends a third language from Class 6" (July 2): This detailed piece unpacks reasons behind why the state's move to introduce a third language from class 1 was controversial. "Decline in number of schools, teachers in Maharashtra but student enrolment up: Report" (Jan 2025): Analyzing discrepancies in the state's education data despite rising student numbers. 3. Human Rights & Social Issues "Aanchal Mamidawar was brave after her family killed her boyfriend" (Dec 17, 2025): A deeply personal and hard-hitting opinion piece/column on the "crime of love" and honor killings in modern India. "'People disrespect the disabled': Meet the man who has become face of racist attacks on Indians" (Nov 29, 2025): A profile of a Pune resident with severe physical deformities who became the target of global online harassment, highlighting issues of disability and cyber-bullying. Signature Style Soham is known for his civil-liberties lens. His reporting frequently champions the rights of the marginalized—whether it's students fighting for campus democracy, victims of regressive social practices, or residents struggling with crumbling urban infrastructure (as seen in his "Breathless Pune" contributions). He is adept at linking hyper-local Pune issues to larger national conversations about law and liberty. X (Twitter): @SohamShah07 ... Read More

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