NEW DELHI: The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls commenced across the national capital on Tuesday, with over 13,000 Booth Level Officers fanning out across the city for a month-long door-to-door verification exercise aimed at updating voter records.
On the first day of the drive, officials said 1,68,291 enumeration forms were distributed, while 7,605 completed forms were digitised, marking the initial progress of the exercise. The revision will continue till July 29, covering all 70 Assembly constituencies and 13,033 polling stations in Delhi.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta also participated in the process, submitting her enumeration form and urging citizens to cooperate. Describing the exercise as a “yajna of democracy,” she called on voters to fill and submit their forms on time to ensure an accurate and updated electoral roll.
Delhi’s Chief Electoral Officer Ashok Kumar appealed to residents to assist BLOs by providing correct information. “An accurate voter list is essential for free and fair elections,” officials reiterated, adding that the final electoral roll is scheduled to be published on October 7.
Under the SIR process, each voter is required to fill out an enumeration form referencing details from the last intensive revision conducted in 2002, along with current voter information. BLOs are providing two copies of the form, one as acknowledgement and the other for submission.
Notably, no supporting documents are required at this stage. The exercise has also seen participation from political parties, with booth-level agents assisting voters in filling out forms. However, the process has not been without criticism. The Aam Aadmi Party and other opposition groups alleged procedural gaps, even as the Supreme Court of India recently upheld the constitutional validity of the SIR process.
On the ground, responses from citizens have been mixed. While many households cooperated with BLOs, some reported confusion regarding the details required. In areas like Mandir Marg, voters said they wanted to verify past records before submission, particularly if their names were not listed in earlier rolls. In Ansari Nagar, residents cited uncertainty over documentation and form-filling procedures, prompting BLOs to offer clarifications.
Challenges were also visible in densely populated and unauthorised colonies, where irregular house numbering complicated enumeration efforts. Officials said BLOs have been instructed to make at least three visits to locked houses to ensure coverage.
The CEO’s office has clarified that voters who fail to submit forms by July 29 can still apply during the claims and objections window between August 5 and September 4 using Form 6.
