Election Commission Likely To Extend SIR Deadline For UP, West Bengal & Other States

New Delhi: The Election Commission will reportedly extend the Summary Revision (SIR) for Uttar Pradesh and several other states, according to an NDTV report. A formal announcement on extending deadlines for more states is expected on Thursday.

The Commission's senior officials will meet on Thursday to review the progress of the enumeration form digitisation and submission. Earlier, the Commission had already extended the last date for Kerala to 18 December, revising it from the original deadline of 11 December.

Reports of the possible extension come at a time of strong criticism from multiple opposition parties, who accused the poll body of enforcing "impractical" deadlines that were overburdening Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and inconveniencing voters.

The updated EC data shows that, a day before the SIR deadline, 50.8 crore enumeration forms have already been digitised. Around 23.22 lakh forms are still pending. A total of 50.96 crore forms were distributed since SIR Phase II commenced on 4 November.

In Kerala, 2.74 crore forms have been digitised, which is about 98.5 per cent, prompting the poll body to extend the submission deadline to 18 December.

Across the 12 states and Union Territories participating in SIR Phase II, the number of electors on 27 October stood at 50.99 crore. Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, and Puducherry have achieved 100 per cent digitisation, while all other states have surpassed 99 per cent, except Kerala.