The Maharashtra SIR electoral-roll revision has come under pressure in Mumbai after a Congress delegation met Chief Electoral Officer S Chockalingam on Monday, alleging irregularities and seeking an extension of the deadline for completing the exercise.
The delegation said the Special Intensive Revision process was cumbersome and could exclude eligible voters if complaints were not addressed. Mumbai Congress president Varsha Gaikwad told reporters that the party had submitted evidence of alleged irregularities to the Chief Electoral Officer and sought strict action against anyone found deliberately deleting voters’ names.
The allegations have not been independently established. According to a PTI report carried by Mid-Day, Gaikwad said the complaints related to Forms 6, 7 and 8, which are used for applications concerning inclusion, objection and correction in electoral rolls. She also alleged that booth-level officers were not functioning properly in some cases during the revision exercise.
The delegation said the process raised concerns about the impartiality of the Election Commission of India and urged the authorities to ensure that no eligible voter was deprived of the right to vote. Gaikwad said the party had received several complaints from voters during the revision and asked the election authorities to examine them before finalising the rolls.
The meeting also focused on the SIR deadline. The Congress delegation argued that voters should receive sufficient time to respond to objections and complete the required procedures. Gaikwad questioned the urgency of completing the exercise, pointing out that Maharashtra is not scheduled to hold elections until 2029, according to the report.
The Chief Electoral Officer reportedly assured the delegation that strict action would be taken against those found responsible for deliberate deletions. Gaikwad also said the Election Commission would issue a notification on the concerns raised by the party.
The Congress delegation included former ministers Aslam Shaikh and Naseem Khan, legislators Amin Patel and Jyoti Gaikwad, and other party functionaries. The meeting places the focus on the administrative capacity of the electoral-roll revision process, particularly the handling of voter forms, objections and field-level verification.
The next formal step is the notification that the Election Commission is expected to issue on the issues raised during the meeting. Any action on the alleged deletions, the deadline extension request and complaints concerning booth-level officers will depend on the findings and directions of the relevant electoral authorities.
