Current SIR exercise natural next phase of decades-old tradition, says Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday defended the ongoing Special Intensive Revision SIR of electoral rolls describing it as a continuation of a decadesold process followed by the Election Commission of India to maintain accurate voter listsFadnavis said intensive revisions were not a new development and argued that such exercises were periodically undertaken to protect the principle of ldquoOne Citizen One Voterdquo and ensure the integrity of electionsHis remarks came a day after the lsquoGarjana Morcharsquo led by Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray demanded that SIR be scrapped in Maharashtra and elections be conducted using ballot papersFadnavis cites electoral revision historyIn a post on X Fadnavis referred to several intensive voterroll revision exercises undertaken since Independence SIR Intensive Revision 1952 1956 1957 1961 1965 1966 1983ndash84 1987ndash89 1992 1993 1995 2002 2003 2004 Enumeration Forms enumeration 20 Special Intensive Revision SIR Maharashtra SIR ElectionCommissionmdash Devendra Fadnavis Dev_Fadnavis October 5 2026During 19521956 The first major intensive revision conducted by the Election Commission across most parts of the country following Indias early general elections Successive nationwide revisions executed to ensure nascent electoral rolls reflected growing populations and demographic shifts in 1957 1961 1965 amp 1966 Periodic doortodoor enumeration drives carried out to cleanse rolls during periods of rapid political and social transition in 19831984 19871989 1992 1993 amp 1995 Comprehensive voter list overhauls undertaken ahead of major national polling cycles in 2002 2003 amp 2004 he notedThe Chief Minister said voter demographics keep changing because of urbanisation migration newly eligible voters deaths and transfers between constituencies He argued that periodic verification was therefore necessary to maintain the accuracy of electoral rollsRapid urbanisation frequent migration additions of newly eligible youth unrecorded deaths and constituency transfers continuously alter voter demographics Over the past 20 years alone millions of names have been added and deleted Periodic indepth verification is essential so that no eligible citizen is excluded and no illegal or duplicate entry remains he saidCM explains SIR verification processFadnavis also outlined the process through which the current SIR exercise is being conducted stressing that it involves verification at the ground levelDoortoDoor Visits Enumerators conduct physical visits to verify household voter data Form Distribution amp Collection Distribution and collection of official Enumeration Forms directly from citizens Record Cleaning Updating records to remove deceased voters and eliminate duplicate registrations across constituencies Public Verification Allowing citizens to verify their details correct spelling or address errors and submit updated credentials he statedHe described SIR as a routine constitutional process intended to ensure fair transparent and accurate elections in Maharashtra and across the countryFadnavis targets Thackeray brothers over rallyFadnavis also criticised the rally organised by Uddhav and Raj Thackeray describing it as an attempt to reclaim lost groundHe claimed that the turnout at the rally was low despite the publicity surrounding the event and accused the Thackeray brothers of directing their frustration towards the Election Commission after being rejected by votersThe Chief Minister also questioned their allegations of irregularities in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections and their demand for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh KumarQuestions timing of SIR and 2024 pollsFadnavis pointed out that Gyanesh Kumar became Chief Election Commissioner in 2025 while the Maharashtra Assembly elections were held in 2024 and the current SIR exercise is taking place in 2026He questioned how the appointment of a CEC in 2025 or an electoralroll revision conducted in 2026 could have influenced an election held in 2024Fadnavis further alleged that the Thackeray brothers having been rejected by the public were now directing their frustration at the Election CommissionWith inputs from IANS