Census And Electoral Roll Revision May Clash In April, Says Maharashtra CEO S Chockalingam

Mumbai: The upcoming Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the national Census exercise may overlap in April, potentially posing administrative challenges, Maharashtra’s Chief Electoral Officer S. Chockalingam said on Friday.

ECI Alerts 22 States

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced that the next phase of the Special Intensive Revision will commence in April. The Commission has alerted 22 remaining states and Union Territories — including Delhi, Maharashtra and Karnataka — to begin preparatory activities. The move follows the near completion of the SIR process in 12 states.

Guidelines Yet To Come

However, Chockalingam clarified that the state election machinery is yet to receive detailed operational guidelines from the ECI.

“The ECI has only given us an alert to be prepared for the SIR. They have not yet shared the specific process or steps to be undertaken,” he said.

Lessons From Bihar Experience

Referring to the experience of Bihar, where the SIR was first implemented in June, he added, “While implementing the SIR in Bihar,West Bengal the Election Commission faced certain difficulties, and there are also some cases pending before the Supreme Court. Taking these factors into consideration, the further process will be shared by the ECI with the states.”

Clarity Expected By March-End

He expressed hope that clarity would emerge soon. “By the end of March, we expect to get clarity on what exactly we are required to do,” Chockalingam said.

Census Adds Complexity

Adding another layer of complexity, the Chief Electoral Officer noted that the Census process is also scheduled to begin in April.

“The Census exercise is also starting from April. If Census authorities make any request to the Election Commission, the Commission may consider it and issue suitable directions to us. At present, we are waiting for further orders,” he said.

SIR Expanded To States

According to officials, the SIR exercise was first initiated in Bihar in June and was subsequently expanded to several states, including West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh. In West Bengal, where Assembly elections are approaching, the Commission extended the timeline for the revision process to ensure comprehensive verification and updating of electoral data.

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States Covered In Phase

The upcoming round of SIR will cover Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Ladakh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Sikkim, Tripura, Telangana and Uttarakhand.

Detailed Schedule Awaited

Officials said that detailed schedules for the revision exercise will be released at a later stage. Notably, no elections are scheduled in any of these states or Union Territories this year.

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