SEC to EC: Conduct SIR in Maharashtra after local body elections | Pune News

Pune: The State Election Commission has requested the ECI to conduct the proposed special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Maharashtra only after the coming local body elections, citing a shortage of staff and pressure on election machinery.In a letter to the Election Commission of India (ECI) through the chief electoral officer (CEO)’s office in the last week of July, state election commissioner Dinesh Waghmare said the ward formation and electoral roll bifurcation for the local body polls in Maharashtra would soon be carried out. “This will require staff. The local body polls are likely to be held after Diwali. Keeping all this in mind, we have put in the request in advance and are awaiting a response,” Waghmare told TOI.Local body polls in Maharashtra are due in 29 municipal corporations, 290 nagar panchayats and parishads, 32 zilla parishads, and 336 panchayat samitis. Terms of these local bodies have expired. The special intensive revision (SIR) schedule has not yet been planned for the state. The ECI had directed all states to follow its nationwide plan, which is being carried out in Bihar, to weed out fake names and strengthen the accuracy of rolls. Senior election officials said such revisions were typically carried out once in 20–25 years. The last intensive revision in Maharashtra was conducted in 2002. Data from 2002 has been forwarded to the CEO’s office for use as the cut-off year. In Bihar, the last intensive revision was done in 2003, which is now being used as the cut-off for the ongoing revision ahead of the assembly elections. Officials explained that during the exercise, booth level officers (BLOs) must visit every household to verify each voter listed on the rolls. “Every voter has to be verified. Those whose names appeared in the 2002 intensive revision in Maharashtra will only need to sign a confirmation form. But those added later will have to provide residence and citizenship evidence. This helps remove voters who may have died or shifted permanently,” a senior official said.The verification process is conducted through a cellphone application provided by the CEO office. The state CEO office added that training of BLOs was on, covering both summary and intensive revision formats.Another official said the Bihar SIR model was expected to be replicated in other states. This will involve pre-printed enumeration forms and categorisation of voters (born before 1987, between 1987–2004, and after 2004). The same set of 11 documents for proof of birth, citizenship and residence will apply for most states, though some state-specific relaxations may be allowed.Political observers are of the view that the SIR should have been ideally conducted ahead of the local polls for ensuring clean voter lists. “The SEC is now using the CEO list that was used during the assembly polls. There could have been many discrepancies, which need to be corrected,” a political observer said, adding that local elections in Maharashtra could not be further delayed.