Election Commission extends SIR schedule by a week amid Opposition objections

BLOs and their associates during a sit-in demonstration near EC office to press their demands seeking security, reduced work pressure and pay compensation to the family members of BLOs who died recently while implementing SIR across the state, in Kolkata, on November 26. Pic/PTI

The Election Commission on Sunday extended by one week the entire schedule of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in nine states and three Union Territories amid allegations by Opposition parties that the "tight timelines" were creating problems for people and ground-level poll officials.

In a statement, the poll authority said the enumeration form distribution will now continue till December 11 instead of December 4. The draft electoral rolls will now be published on December 16 in place of December 9, while the final voters' list will be out on February 14, 2026 in place of February 7.

Officials said the commission took the decision to extend the timeline for all phases of the SIR based on internal discussions with chief electoral officers of states and UTs where the exercise is underway.

Alleging at least 40 deaths of booth-level officers (BLOs) during the SIR, largely by suicides due to "stress of meeting tight deadlines", the opposition parties have questioned the timing of the voters' list revision.

The EC has junked these charges, saying the exercise is going on smoothly. Reacting to the EC's decision to revise the SIR schedule, Congress leader Pramod Tiwari said it was an indication that the poll panel knew the timelines were not "practical".

The decision to tweak the SIR schedule comes on the eve of the Winter Session of Parliament beginning Monday. The last session was a virtual washout over demands by the opposition for a debate on the SIR, then being held in Bihar.

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