Facing ‘Vote Chori’ Heat, ECI Lists Steps to Onboard Parties in SIR
India's new Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar (Image credit X.com)
The ECI asked the BLOs in 12 states to share the full data with political workers of parties at the booth level.
By KUMAR VIKRAM
New Delhi, December 10, 2025 — Facing ‘Vote Chori’ heat in parliament, the Election Commission of India on Wednesday ordered steps to onboard political parties in the ongoing special intensive revision of the electoral rolls in 12 states. The ECI asked the BLOs in 12 states to share the full data with political workers of parties at the booth level.
The direction of the ECI came on a day when the Lok Sabha discussed the elections reforms. The Opposition accused the government of “rigging elections with the help of the ECI.”
“As a part of ongoing SIR in 12 states and UTs, respective Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) will ensure the sharing of booth-wise lists of electors marked as Absent, Shifted or Dead/Duplicate (ASD), who could not be contacted even after three or more visits by Booth Level Officers (BLOs), with Booth Level Agents (BLAs),” said the ECI in a media statement. BLAs are nominated by district presidents of political parties prior to the publication of the Draft Electoral Rolls. The step is in line with the due process adopted in the Bihar SIR, said the ECI.
“In view of this, nearly 5 lakh BLOs of all the 12 SIR-ongoing States/UTs, will hold booth-wise meetings with the more than 12 lakh BLAs of political parties and hand over the ASD lists to them,” added the ECI.
The poll body also said that the move is “to ascertain the exact status of each such elector on the ASD list, so that any error can be rectified before the publication of the draft Electoral Rolls itself.” “This step is in line with the ECI’s commitment that no eligible elector is left out,” it added.
The ECI also stated that “upon publication of the draft Electoral Roll, and as was done during the Bihar SIR also, booth-wise/assembly-wise/district-wise ASD lists in all 12 SIR ongoing States/UTs will be made available on the websites of the respective DEOs/DMs (district-wise) as well as on the CEO website and this will also be available in an EPIC-searchable mode.”
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