The SIR exercise, which began with Bihar and has since expanded to other states, requires existing electors to fill out enumeration forms and provide additional documents to prove their eligibility.
IE reports that on June 24, the day the order was issued, commissioner Sandhu wrote a dissenting note. “Care should be taken that genuine voters/citizens, particularly old, sick, PwD (persons with disabilities), poor and other vulnerable groups do not feel harassed and are facilitated,” Sandhu wrote. https://thewire.in/government/harassment-fears-deleted-citizenship-clause-inside-the-election-commissions-sir-d
The prescience of Sandhu’s warning became evident during the rollout in Bihar, which concluded on September 30. The exercise led to widespread panic, with voters scrambling to procure birth certificates and old land records. The electorate in Bihar reportedly shrank by 6% following the revision. The EC also had to extend deadlines following reports of the deaths of several Booth Level Officers (BLOs) due to the intense workload.
by Pavan Korada
04/12/2025