Defer SIR in Maharashtra until local body elections: State poll body urges EC

The Maharashtra State Election Commission has requested the Election Commission to defer its plan if any to roll out Special Intensive Revision SIR of electoral rolls in the state until January 2026 citing the upcoming local body polls reported news agency PTIThe State Election Commission SEC in its letter dated September 9 stated that officials will be busy conducting the elections to local bodiesThe honourable Supreme Court of India has vide its order dated 6th May 2025 directed the State Election Commission to make an endeavour to conclude the elections to local bodies in Maharashtra within a period of four months while granting liberty to the State Election Commission to seek extension of time in appropriate cases it said reported PTIElections to all 29 municipal corporations all 247 municipal councils 42 nagar panchayats out of 147 town councils 32 out of 34 zilla parishads and 336 out of 351 panchayat samitis are due in Maharashtra a senior official said on MondayThe SEC also pointed out that the officials who conduct the SIR and local body polls would be the sameTentatively the process of elections for all these bodies is likely to continue till January 2026 during which time most of the deputy collectors and tahsildars who are appointed as Returning Officers and Assistant Returning Officers for local body elections in the state will be engaged in these pollsAs the field staff including deputy collectors and tahsildars are the same officers for local body elections and revision of assembly electoral roll it is requested that the programme for Special Intensive Revision in case any such programme is planned to be undertaken be deferred till at least the end of January 2026 the SEC said reported PTIEarlier the SEC had conveyed its inability to conduct SIR until January 2026 in the first week of September when the EC was planning to hold a conference of Chief Electoral Officers from across the stateThe SEC informed the EC that the delimitation of wards of zilla parishads and panchayat samitis is complete while the process of ward delimitation for municipal corporations councils and nagar panchayats is due to be completed shortly the senior official said reported PTIOnce it is done the officials will have to undertake the process of bifurcation of the legislative assembly electoral rolls for these local bodies The actual elections will be conducted only after completion of the earlier procedures he addedThe intensive revision involves a full fresh preparation of electoral rolls through housetohouse enumerationEnumerators visit every household to record eligible electors as of a qualifying date without reference to existing rolls This is done when the EC determines that the current rolls are outdated inaccurate or require complete rebuilding typically before major elections or after administrative exercises such as delimitation of constituencies reported PTIThe SIR was ordered in Bihar in June 2025 months before the assembly elections requiring voters to produce one of 11 documents to prove eligibility The move drew criticism and challenges in courtThe SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar received heavy criticism from the Opposition parties which claimed that the practice excluded several registered votersWith inputs from PTI