SIR Voters List News: 26 lakh voters’ names in current Bengal electoral rolls not matching with 2002 list, says EC

The Supreme Court Wednesday said that it can always direct the Election Commission of India (ECI) to extend the deadline for the publication of the draft electoral rolls if those challenging the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) currently underway in some states make a case for it.

According to the SIR second-phase schedule, enumeration forms must be submitted by December 4, and the draft rolls will be published on December 9.

“So what? If you make out a case, then we can direct them to extend the date. Can that date be a ground for the court to say that we don’t have any power now? The court can always say,” Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said.

The bench, also comprising Justice Joymalya Bagchi, was hearing petitions challenging the SIR process in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. Read Here

Eight days remain until the December 4 deadline for completing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Uttar Pradesh and other states.

The Indian Express breaks down some key questions about the process for voters.

Where can I get my enumeration form?

You can get the SIR enumeration form from the booth-level officer (BLO) or access it online on voters.eci.gov.in.

Does the BLO come to me or do I go to the BLO?

BLOs will visit your home and those of every voter in their assigned booth area.

Here's all you need to know.

A 35-year-old assistant teacher deployed as a Booth Level Officer (BLO) for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise of electoral rolls died in Gonda on Tuesday, police said, adding prima facie, it was a case of poisoning.

In a video circulated widely on social media, a man identified as Vipin Kumar Yadav is seen lying on a hospital bed and purportedly heard saying that he had been under pressure from the SDM, BDO, tehsildar, and other officials.

Additional District Magistrate Alok Kumar said an inquiry panel comprising the Chief Revenue Officer and the Assistant Superintendent of Police has been directed to examine the incident from all angles and submit a report at the earliest.

Read the full story here.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday claimed that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) was the real intent behind the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, news agency PTI reported.

Speaking to reporters after garlanding the statue of BR Ambedkar at Red Road on the occasion of Constitution Day, Banerjee said the citizenship of people is being questioned after so many years of Independence. (PTI)

The ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in nine states and three Union Territories is unfolding differently from the earlier exercise in Bihar. It’s this shift, a procedural one, that’s at the heart of what’s visible on the ground – with reports of alleged stress-related deaths and suicides among Booth Level Officers (BLOs).

In Bihar, anyone not found on the 2003 intensive revision roll had to submit during enumeration one of 11 documents mandated by the Election Commission. The EC altered the process for the rest of the country.

The new form asks electors to provide details of themselves or any adult relative in the last intensive revision roll of their state, but BLOs have been instructed not to collect documents at this stage. Instead, they must physically search the last intensive revision rolls (from any state or UT) to trace electors or their relatives and write the corresponding serial number on the form.

Here's what has changed.

BJP MP Samik Bhattacharya Wednesday alleged that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wants to take fake voters to the election, news agency PTI quoted.

"The SIR is happening in 12 states, but why is there so much chaos in West Bengal regarding this? Mamata Banerjee's agenda is clear regarding Rohinigyas, Bangladeshi infiltrators...," PTI quoted Bhattacharya as saying.

Union Minister Giriraj Singh, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP leader alleged West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to be supporting Bangladeshi and Rohingya infiltrators across the country, news agency PTI reported.

"Mamata Banerjee has from the beginning supported Bangladeshi and Rohingya infiltrators across the country. The Bengal government is running on the support of these infiltrators, and she does everything that spreads hatred and goes against the Constitution and is anti-Hindu," Singh told PTI.

Amid the SIR of electoral rolls in Kerala, an audio message from a BLO, who equated the work they are made to do with “slave labour”, went viral prompting authorities to reach out to him.

Chief Electoral Officer of Kerala, Dr Ratan Kelkar, and Kottayam District Collector Chetan Kumar Meena jointly held a meeting via video conferencing with the BLO, identified as Antony Varghese, offered the option to stop working as a BLO.

The BLO, however, expressed his willingness to continue with the work. The district administration has deployed additional personnel to help Antony, officials said. Read more here.

With the stress being faced by the booth-level officers (BLOs) deployed on duty for the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls in Gujarat over the last month, a 26-year-old Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) employee – working as a BLO in Surat city – was found dead in her apartment’s bathroom on Monday.

Another teacher serving as a BLO in Gir Somnath’s Kodinar purportedly died by suicide, allegedly citing stress from the SIR work in a note.

Two women assistant BLOs also died of heart attack in Gujarat last week, taking the total number of deaths of BLOs in the state to four in a week. These deaths have prompted the INDIA bloc to call for an immediate halt on the process.

Nearly 14 lakh Special Intensive Revision (SIR) enumeration forms have so far been identified as “uncollectable” in West Bengal, news agency PTI reported quoting the Election Commission.

These forms are “uncollectable” since the voters were either absentee, duplicate, dead, or have permanently shifted, according to an ECI official.

“As of Tuesday noon, the number stood at 13.92 lakh… We expect this figure to continue rising daily as more updates roll in,” he stated.

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