The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday announced a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across 12 states — a move that marks the success of a seven-year campaign by a Pune-based citizens’ group that exposed large-scale discrepancies in voter lists.

The Forum for Innovation and Application (FINNAPP), a Chinchwad-based civic group led by misal pav eatery owner and social activist Chinmay Kavi, has been working since 2017 to highlight the issue of fake and duplicate voter entries. Kavi’s investigation found that names of deceased individuals continued to appear on electoral rolls — exposing an estimated 9.15 crore fake or invalid voter entries nationwide.