The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) commissioner, Ashwini Bhide, has formally requested the Election Commission of India (ECI) to postpone the special intensive revision (SIR) of the voter list in Maharashtra during the summer months. The request stems from concerns that a significant number of voters may be absent from Mumbai due to vacation, which could impact the accuracy and completeness of the revision process.
Political Parties Raise Concerns
This move comes in response to concerns raised by various political parties. Bhide confirmed to the Times of India, stating, "We have just conveyed the requests from political parties during our interaction with them." The BMC is acting as a conduit for these concerns, emphasizing the logistical challenges posed by the summer season.
Logistical Challenges and Census Work
Officials have also highlighted that conducting the SIR would be difficult until the ongoing census work in the state is completed, as both programs share staff resources. The house-listing exercise, which is the first phase of the census, is scheduled to conclude on June 16. Currently, pre-SIR mapping is underway, involving the alignment of names from the current voter list with the 2002 voter list. The state electoral office has not yet received any directive regarding the rollout of the SIR.
Political Support for Delay
Samajwadi Party MLA Rais Shaikh echoed these concerns, stating, "During the summer months, a large number of voters are not in Mumbai because of the vacations, and even teachers who are involved in conducting the SIR exercise are on vacation. Census work is also on." He further argued that there is no urgency to conduct the exercise in Maharashtra, as no elections are due for the next two years. "There are no elections due for the next two years, so there is no urgency in conducting the SIR," Shaikh added.
Previous Communication
Earlier in November 2025, Maharashtra’s chief electoral officer, S. Chockalingam, had written to the ECI, emphasizing that sufficient time should be allocated for the SIR exercise. The letter pointed out that when the SIR was last conducted in 2002, the process took 13 months to complete.
Implementation Phases
The SIR programme is designed to be implemented in six distinct phases: pre-revision mapping, enumeration, preparation of the AASD (already enrolled, absent, shifted, dead) list, publication of draft rolls, claims and objections, and final publication. Each phase requires careful coordination and resources, which are currently strained due to the census and summer vacations.
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