By News18
Not a single political party is satisfied with the current status of electoral rolls for different reasons, said Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Gyanesh Kumar, who took charge four months ago, has held at least 5,000 meetings with 28,000 representatives of political parties.
鈥淒uring the past four months, all 4,123 EROs (electoral registration officer), 775 DEOs (district election officer), and 36 CEOs (chief electoral officer) have held nearly 5,000 meetings with 28,000 political party representatives. The ECI (Election Commission of India) has also invited all recognised political parties for interaction. No one was satisfied with the current status of electoral rolls for one reason or the other,鈥 Kumar told News18.
The statement comes as criticism intensifies over the timing and implementation of the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral lists ahead of the assembly election in Bihar.
SMOOTH SIR IMPLEMENTATION
The Election Commission (EC) on Sunday said the SIR is being smoothly implemented on the ground with active cooperation of the electors.
鈥淭he initial phase of SIR, during which enumeration forms were to be printed and distributed, is almost complete with the forms having been made available to all the electors who were available,鈥 the EC said in a statement.
The EC said the SIR is being conducted as per instructions dated June 24, and there is no change in the instructions.
鈥淎s per instructions, draft electoral rolls that will be issued on August 1, 2025, will contain the names of persons whose enumeration forms are received. The electors can submit their documents any time before July 25, 2025,鈥 it said.
After the publication of the draft electoral rolls, if any document is deficient, EROs can obtain them from electors whose name appears during scrutiny in the claims and objection period.
MORE THAN 21% FORMS SUBMITTED
As of Sunday, the commission said, 1.69 crore enumeration forms (21.46 per cent of the almost 7.9 crore population) had been received 鈥 for those enrolled till June 24.
鈥淚n the last 24 hours, 65.32 lakh enumeration forms were collected. There are still 19 days to go until the last date for submission of forms,鈥 the EC said.
In addition, the uploading of forms has also started simultaneously in full swing with 7.25 per cent of the forms already uploaded so far.
MASSIVE GROUND EFFORT
A total of 77,895 BLOs are going from door to door while helping electors fill out their enumeration forms and collect them.
In a large number of cases, the BLOs are taking live pictures of the electors and uploading them, saving the elector the trouble of getting their pictures clicked.
A total of 20,603 BLOs are being appointed for the smooth and timely completion of the process. Nearly four lakh volunteers, including government officials, NCC cadets, and NSS members, are also working on the field to facilitate the elderly, PwDs (people with disabilities), sick and vulnerable populations in the SIR process.
Besides, 239 EROs are covering all 243 ACs, 963 AEROs, and 38 DEOs while the CEO in the state will be on the ground to facilitate electors to submit their forms. At least 1.55 lakh booth level agents (BLA) appointed by political parties are also providing active support in the SIR process.