Mumbai

Terming the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls as the "next phase of a comprehensive and long-standing routine process," Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday defended the process, stating that the exercise has a history spanning several decades and is an established practice to ensure accurate and reliable voter data.

In a detailed post on social media platform X, Fadnavis outlined the historical milestones of electoral roll revisions in India, highlighting that intensive revisions have been undertaken at multiple stages since independence.

"भारतात SIR च्या इतिहासातील महत्त्वपूर्ण टप्पे: मतदारयाद्यांच्या विस्तृत पुनरीक्षणाच्या (Intensive Revision) प्रक्रियेला भारताच्या निवडणूक व्यवस्थेत अनेक दशकांचा इतिहास आहे. मतदार याद्या अधिक अचूक आणि विश्वासार्ह ठेवण्यासाठी निवडणूक आयोगाने विविध टप्प्यांवर मतदार याद्यांचे सखोल पुनरीक्षण केले आहे. ✅ 1952 ते 1956 या कालावधीत निवडणूक आयोगाने देशातील बहुतांश भागांत मतदार याद्यांचे विस्तृत पुनरीक्षण केले. ✅ त्यानंतर 1957, 1961, 1965 आणि 1966 मध्येही देशातील बहुतांश भागांत पुनरीक्षण करण्यात आले. ✅ पुढे 1983–84, 1987–89, 1992, 1993 आणि 1995 या कालावधीतही पुनरीक्षण करण्यात आले. ✅ निवडणूक आयोगाने 2002, 2003 आणि 2004 मध्ये पुन्हा मतदार याद्यांचे पुनरीक्षण केले. ✅ विस्तृत पुनरीक्षण करत असताना घराघरात जाऊन मतदारांकडून माहिती घेणे, मतदार गणना अर्ज (Enumeration Forms) वितरित करणे व जमा करणे आणि मतदारांच्या नोंदींची पडताळणी करणे यांचा समावेश असतो. ✅ विस्तृत पुनरीक्षणमध्ये मतदार याद्या मतदार गणनेच्या (enumeration) माध्यमातून नव्याने तयार करण्याची प्रक्रिया केली जाते. ✅ वेगाने होणारे शहरीकरण आणि नागरिकांचे वारंवार होणारे स्थलांतर यामुळेही मतदार यादीत मोठे बदल झाले आहेत. गेल्या 20 वर्षांत मतदार यादीमध्ये मोठ्या प्रमाणावर नावे वाढली आणि वगळली गेली आहेत. ✅ कालांतराने नवीन पात्र मतदारांची भर, मृत्यू, स्थलांतर आणि एका ठिकाणाहून दुसऱ्या ठिकाणी झालेली नोंदणी यामुळे मतदार याद्यांमध्ये बदल होत राहतात. त्यामुळे वेळोवेळी सखोल पडताळणी आवश्यक ठरते. ✅ पात्र नागरिकांचा मतदार यादीत समावेश आणि कोणताही पात्र नागरिक वगळला जाऊ नये, हे निवडणूक आयोगाच्या महत्त्वाच्या उद्दिष्टांपैकी एक आहे. मतदार याद्यांची अचूकता आणि विश्वासार्हता कायम ठेवण्यासाठी विस्तृत पुनरीक्षण ही निवडणूक व्यवस्थेतील दीर्घकाळापासूनची प्रक्रिया आहे. सध्याची Special Intensive Revision (SIR) ही त्याच व्यापक प्रक्रियेचा पुढील टप्पा आहे." #Maharashtra #SIR #ElectionCommission

— Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) October 5, 2026

"The process of Intensive Revision of electoral rolls has a history spanning several decades in India's electoral system. To keep the electoral rolls more accurate and reliable, the Election Commission has conducted in-depth revisions of electoral rolls at various stages," Fadnavis said.

Detailing the timeline of past exercises, the Chief Minister pointed out that “Between 1952 and 1956, the Election Commission conducted intensive revisions of electoral rolls in most parts of the country. Subsequently, revisions were also carried out in most parts of the country in 1957, 1961, 1965, and 1966. Further revisions took place during 1983–84, 1987–89, 1992, 1993, and 1995. The Election Commission again revised the electoral rolls in 2002, 2003, and 2004. While conducting intensive revisions, it involves visiting door-to-door to collect information from voters, distributing and collecting Enumeration Forms, and verifying voter records. In intensive revision, the electoral rolls are prepared afresh through the enumeration process.”

He emphasised that demographic shifts over the past two decades have necessitated periodic deep verifications.

"Rapid urbanization and frequent migration of citizens have also led to significant changes in the voter lists. Over the past 20 years, a large number of names have been added and deleted from the voter lists. Over time, additions of new eligible voters, deaths, migration, and registrations from one place to another continuously cause changes in electoral rolls. Therefore, periodic in-depth verification becomes necessary," he said.

Underlining the objective of the exercise, Fadnavis stated that “Ensuring the inclusion of eligible citizens in the voter list and that no eligible citizen is excluded is one of the important objectives of the Election Commission. Maintaining the accuracy and reliability of electoral rolls through intensive revision is a long-standing process in the electoral system. The current Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is the next phase of this comprehensive process"

The remarks come amid questions raised by opposition parties regarding the ongoing verification process and the functioning of the poll watchdog ahead of upcoming elections.

Earlier, on Sunday, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray led a joint protest march toward the BMC headquarters, targeting Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and raising questions over the poll panel's functioning.

The protest march came amid political row over the functioning of the Election Commission and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Opposition parties have alleged irregularities in the revision exercise and questioned the independence of the poll panel.

The issue has gained traction following The Indian Express report that Election Commissioners Vivek Joshi and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu had recorded objections 14 times over key files in the last 10 months regarding decisions and procedures related to the SIR exercise and other electoral matters.

The reported objections included issues concerning Form 6, voter deletions and access to electoral-roll databases.

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The Election Commission, however, rejected the suggestion that the reported objections amounted to institutional dissent over final decisions.

The poll panel said that operational queries, inputs and suggestions raised during the draft stage were part of its standard administrative and decision-making process. ECI stated that the decisions regarding the schedule of the SIR exercise were unanimous.