SIR and Voter List Revision: The Questions, the Concerns, the Answers

Answer: No. Saying that the votes of 13 crore people were cut in SIR is completely wrong. ● In the SIR process, a Draft Electoral Roll is prepared first. In this Draft Roll, about 13 crore electors have been marked as Absent, Shifted, Dead and Duplicate (ASDD). Of these, about 2.8 crore were found Dead, 3 crore Absent/Untraceable, 6.3 crore Permanently Shifted, and about 1 crore enrolled at Multiple Places, that is, Duplicate. ● This Draft Roll is shared with all Political Parties and their about 20 lakh Booth Level Agents (BLAs), so that they can verify these entries. Also, during this time, every eligible elector has the right to file Claims and Objections. ● So, a name being marked in the Draft Roll and it being removed from the final electoral roll are two different things. ● The aim of SIR is not to remove the name of any eligible voter, but to include every eligible voter in the electoral roll and to remove errors from the electoral roll. 

Answer: No change has been made to Form 6. ● During SIR, the Election Commission issued the SIR Order with the unanimous agreement of the Chief Election Commissioner and both Election Commissioners. It also has a Declaration Form. ● For the convenience of voters, Form 6 and the Declaration Form were joined together, so that they do not have to go through separate processes and do not have to do the OTP process twice. ● Form 6 is the same; the required Declaration has been added to the same process so that the process is easier for voters. ● And the important point is that on 27 May 2026, the Supreme Court upheld the validity of this SIR order. ● The point is simply this: there is no change in Form 6; the Declaration Form has been added to the Form 6 process for the convenience of the voter, so that OTP is not needed twice. 

Answer: Not at all. ● The Electoral Roll Database was decentralised before and is still decentralised today. ● The simple reason is that the Electoral Roll is prepared and maintained by the ERO of every state, under the supervision of the CEO. So its system has been decentralised from the beginning. ● The truth is that the Electoral Roll Database has never been centralised under the ERONET module of ECINET. ● Every State’s Electoral Roll Database is still decentralised as before, and all statutory and procedural powers of EROs remain as before. ● The system has become digital, but there is no change in the statutory authority and decentralised structure of the Electoral Roll. 

Answer: Not at all. In fact, the process has been made easier than before. ● Any young person who has completed, or is about to complete, 18 years of age can get their name added to the Electoral Roll on the basis of four qualifying dates – 1 January, 1 April, 1 July and 1 October. ● The important point is that an eligible voter does not need to wait for any revision like SSR or SIR. Our Gen Z electors can get their name added to the Electoral Roll at any time by filling Form 6. ● Since 24 June 2025, that is, since SIR started, about 2.37 crore new Gen Z voters (age group 18–28) have already been added to the Electoral Roll, and they are continuously being added. ● The Election Commission also continuously organises special camps and awareness programmes through Electoral Literacy Clubs (ELCs) for Gen Z voters, so that young voters can easily get their names added to the Electoral Roll and use their right to vote. ● The process for Gen Z to get their names added to the Electoral Roll is open, easy and continuously available. ● And one most important point: there are a total of 17.38 crore Gen Z (age group 18–28) voters in ECI’s electoral roll. ● Every month, 16 lakh Gen Z voters are being added to the voter list. That means more than 50 thousand every day. 

Answer: This is a completely misleading narrative. Let us understand it in simple language. ● The Election Commission of India is a three-member Commission – one Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners. ● Under Section 18(1) of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023, the Commission can decide, unanimously, the procedure for its working and the allocation of work between the Chief Election Commissioner and the other Election Commissioners. ● Under this, letters and orders issued in the name of ECI are issued as per the Transaction of Business Rules and the delegation of powers decided by the Commission. ● After a decision is taken at the Commission level, the authorised officers of the Commission communicate and implement those decisions. ● The important point is that all decisions taken by the Commission have been taken unanimously – that is, with the approval of all three Commissioners. ● It is also important to understand that Commissioners giving questions, observations or suggestions at the draft stage of a decision is not unusual. This is part of the normal deliberative and administrative process of any institution. Its aim is to make the decision better and to improve the electoral process. ● Calling every observation a “dissent” and every draft-stage query “going against the decision” is not right. The final decision and the deliberation before it – both are different things. ● Decision-making in ECI happens under a fixed legal and procedural framework. The inputs and observations given by the Commissioners and the Commission’s officers are part of the decision-making process. Calling them “rigging” in themselves, or saying the CEC bypassed the other Commissioners, is completely wrong, and this is just a failed attempt to spread rumours to confuse people. 

Answer: ● First of all, there is no such thing as “Vote Chori”. It is a toolkit word being used to spread a fake and mischievous narrative. ● To understand this, it is necessary to understand the whole process, from the preparation of the Electoral Roll to polling and counting. ● How is the Electoral Roll made in SIR? ○ In the process of preparing the Electoral Roll, BLOs carry out field/house-to-house verification. Along with this, about 20 lakh Booth Level Agents (BLAs) of Political Parties also closely observe the Electoral Roll process. ○ They have not been kept just for name’s sake. BLAs play the role of a concurrent auditor in this whole process. ○ At the draft stage, along with the Draft Electoral Roll, the Absent, Shifted, Dead and Duplicate (ASDD) marked lists are also made available to Political Parties and their BLAs, so that they can verify them at their own level. The same information is also available in the public domain. ○ In the Claims and Objections process, any eligible elector can make a claim or objection on draft roll entries. After all these processes, the Final Electoral Roll is published. ○ And the matter does not end here. There is also a provision for appeal against the ERO’s decision. ● No one’s name can be deleted arbitrarily. ○ Deletion from the Electoral Roll happens under a prescribed legal process. The ERO has to take a decision on the basis of available material, verification and the prescribed procedure. ○ That is, in the Electoral Roll process, on one side BLOs do field verification, and on the other side about 20 lakh BLAs of Political Parties do concurrent scrutiny. Above this, there is also a system of claims, objections and appeals. ○ Now think – when such wide verification and concurrent auditing systems exist, how can “Vote Chori” happen? ● Scrutiny by candidates’ political agents continues on polling day too. ○ Candidates’ Polling Agents are present at the polling station and observe the polling process. ○ Also, ECI’s new initiative, taken with the unanimous agreement of all three Commissioners, in which webcasting of 100% polling stations was arranged, makes the polling process even more transparent. ○ In Bihar and West Bengal, the voting % was the highest since Independence, and the highest number of people ever also voted. ○ Candidates’ representatives are present in counting too. ○ In the counting process, candidates’ Counting Agents are present and observe the counting process. ○ That is, Electoral Roll → Verification → Claims & Objections → Final Roll → Polling → Counting – at every important stage, political parties, candidates and their representatives are present and keep scrutiny. ○ The straight point is that making the Electoral Roll is not a closed-room process. In it, there is field verification by BLOs and concurrent scrutiny by about 20 lakh BLAs – there are safeguards at every stage. ○ India’s electoral system is one of the largest and most widely scrutinised democratic processes in the world. To understand it, one should look at the whole process, not a narrative. 

Answer: This allegation is completely false and baseless. ● Before the 2023 law, the Chief Election Commissioner of India was appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Central Government. No law was available for this. ● In Anoop Baranwal vs Union of India, the Supreme Court ordered that there should be a law for the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners. And until then, a temporary provision of a committee with the Chief Justice was made. ● Within a few months, Parliament brought a new law, in which a new committee was formed, with the Prime Minister, one Minister appointed by the Prime Minister, and the Leader of Opposition as its parts. This is a better, committee-based process compared to the earlier process. ● Earlier, the appointment was made only as per the government; now there is a committee in which the LoP has also been included. This is a better system. 

Answer: Not at all. ● The whole truth is that no such restriction has been placed on the access of statutory authorities and field officers on ECINET that stops them from performing their statutory functions. ● Since the announcement of SIR, 109 training sessions for field officers on ECINET and its various modules have already been organised, and this training is continuing. AEROs, EROs, DEOs and CEOs have taken part in these sessions. ● During these training sessions, no complaint or concern about access restriction ever came up. ● Important point: ECINET is a decentralised platform, which works in line with the Representation of the People Act, 1950, the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and the instructions issued by ECI from time to time. ● BLOs, AEROs, EROs, DEOs and CEOs can perform their prescribed statutory functions on ECINET through their Unique ID and Password. ● Also, strict data-security protocols, IT security checks and audit controls are in place in ECINET, to prevent unauthorised access, tampering or manipulation. ● This is not a system to stop access, but a system to provide field officers a safe and secure digital environment while ensuring data security and accountability, so that they can carry out all their statutory responsibilities smoothly. ● Saying “field officers were stopped from accessing” ECINET is completely wrong. Field officials are smoothly performing their prescribed roles and statutory responsibilities through the ECINET platform. 

Answer: Completely wrong. ● The purpose of the ECINET app/software is not to reject voters, but to make the registration and inclusion of eligible electors easier. Facilitating voter registration and Electoral Roll management is one of its core functions. ● In ECINET, there is a provision for EROs that, before the final publication of the Electoral Roll, electors can be marked for inclusion or exclusion as per law and ECI instructions. ● In the 97 Goa cases, some inadvertent mistakes had happened on the part of EROs. This was not at all a case of the ECINET software rejecting genuine voters. ● ECI’s clear instruction is that no eligible elector should be left out. Under this, these 97 cases, which could not be included in the final Electoral Roll published in February 2026, were taken up separately, and BLOs made house-to-house visits to get Form 6 completed. ● Many of these electors have now been included in the Electoral Roll, while the remaining cases are being processed as per the prescribed procedure. ● ECINET never rejects any genuine voter. It is a secure digital platform that facilitates Electoral Roll management and voter registration, and helps to efficiently implement decisions taken by election officials as per the prescribed law and procedure. The ECINET app is designed fully in accordance with applicable laws, Electoral Rules and ECI instructions. Point-wise rebuttal of points raised by Congress’ Jairam Ramesh 

Answer: The additional measures are not an admission of failure, but a step taken towards continuously giving better convenience to voters. SIR has a system of many stages: Enumeration, Draft Roll, Claims & Objections, and Notice and Hearing before removing any name. The Commission’s goal is that no eligible voter is left out. ● In the Enumeration phase, there is a provision of at least 3 visits by the BLO, going door to door, to get people’s Enumeration Forms filled and submitted. ● The Election Commission has recently decided to send the BLO to homes during the Notice phase as well, for more convenience of voters, which is a commendable step. ● Calling the convenience given to voters wrong shows their anti-citizen mindset. ● The figure of 5.43 crore is completely imaginary and wrong. ● SIR has only one objective: to add every eligible voter to the Electoral Roll, and to remove Absent/Untraceable, Dead, Duplicate, Permanently Shifted, Foreigner and Illegal entries from the Electoral Roll. 

Answer: ECINet is a technical platform, which provides officers a safe and secure digital environment to carry out their statutory functions. ● The decision to add or remove any name in the voter list is taken only by the ERO, under the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, after notice and hearing. ● The ERO or any officer has never been restricted on ECINet from carrying out their statutory functions. This allegation is completely wrong. ● Forming the Committee is an important example of the steps being continuously taken to present ECINet more transparently. 

Answer: The Election Commission has made the position on this subject fully clear. These are absurd allegations made in frustration after their narrative has ended. ● The letter was an administrative matter, related to the service of an officer posted on deputation. ● It has nothing at all to do with any policy decision of the Election Commission or the IT Division. 

Answer: This is a completely false and made-up allegation. AI is not used in any way in the process of preparing the voter list. ● Every decision is taken only by the ERO, as per due process of law under the Representation of the People Act, 1950. ● Notices are also issued only by the ERO as per due process of law. The same process is followed across the country. ● In this process, ECINet is only a secure digital platform, which helps EROs carry out their statutory functions. ● Their attempt is to make false allegations and create confusion by presenting statements in a twisted way. 

Answer: First thing, when no change has happened in Form 6 at all, where does the question of that change even arise? ● The Election Commission has made it clear that no change has been made to Form 6. ● In SIR, a Declaration Form has been separately attached with Form 6, which all three Commissioners approved unanimously. ● Also, the Hon’ble Supreme Court, in its judgment of 27 May 2026, has also held it fully legal and correct. ● The Election Commission has also made it clear that apart from SIR, the position of Form 6 will remain the same. There is no change; as it was before, it is the same today. 

Answer: ● Circulating the Agenda before meetings and completing Performance Appraisals on time is part of the normal working of the Commission. Repeating it is not a new promise, but a step to make the system stronger. ● The allegation of keeping the Election Commissioners in the dark is completely baseless. All decisions of the Commission have always been taken unanimously by all three Commissioners. ● Making allegations about the internal working of the Commission on the basis of speculation is a failed and frustrated attempt to spoil the image of a constitutional institution. Point-wise rebuttal of points raised by Congress Working Committee 

Reality: ● Under Article 324 of the Constitution, the superintendence, direction and control of elections is only with the Election Commission of India (ECI). ● The Commission works independently of the government and every political party. ● Elections are conducted by lakhs of officials under statutory processes. ● At every stage, including making the voter list, polling and counting, agents of candidates and political parties are always present. ● The term “Vote Chori” has no factual basis. It is actually a toolkit word to build a narrative. ● The voter registration process is audited side by side by more than 20 lakh Booth Level Agents (BLAs) of political parties. ● The whole polling process is audited by the polling agents of candidates, and 100% webcasting of all polling stations is done. ● The Model Code of Conduct applies equally to all parties. Action is taken on all complaints, including complaints received on cVIGIL, whatever the party may be. 

Reality: ● EVMs are standalone machines. They are not connected to any network. Political parties, candidates and their agents are present at every stage. ● First Level Checking (FLC) is done in the presence of representatives of political parties. ● Randomisation of machines is done twice in the presence of political parties and candidates. ● On polling day, before actual polling starts, a mock poll is conducted in the presence of candidates’ agents. ● In every Assembly constituency, VVPAT slips of five randomly selected polling stations are matched with the EVM count. ● The Supreme Court has examined EVMs many times and has upheld their reliability. Most recently, this happened in Association for Democratic Reforms vs ECI (April 2024). ● A mechanism is also available for candidates to demand verification of the burnt memory of EVMs. 

Reality: ● The voter list is prepared by Electoral Registration Officers (EROs). EROs are statutory officers under Section 13B of the RP Act, 1950, and work as a quasi-judicial authority. ● Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and more than 20 lakh Booth Level Agents (BLAs) of all recognised political parties are involved in preparing the voter list. ● The Draft roll and the ASD (Absent, Shifted, Dead) list are given to all recognised political parties. BLAs appointed by the parties themselves also check them as concurrent auditors. ● Any person or party can file claims and objections within the fixed period. ● Any person not satisfied with the ERO’s decision can appeal under Section 24 of the RP Act, 1950, first to the District Magistrate and then to the Chief Electoral Officer. ● People missed during SIR and new voters can still get their names added through Form 6, because updating the voter list is a continuous process. 

Reality: ● The Election Commission is a multi-member body. Its working happens as per the legal provisions given in the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023. ● All decisions have been taken unanimously by all three Commissioners. ● ECI has repeated this twice through its press notes, and these press notes were issued unanimously by all three Commissioners. 

Reality: ● The orders for SIR in Bihar, SIR in 12 states in Phase 2 and SIR in 19 states in Phase 3 were issued unanimously by all three Commissioners. ● The Commission conducts SIR under Article 324 of the Constitution and Section 21(3) of the RP Act, 1950. Section 21(3) gives the Commission the power to direct a special revision at any time. ● The Hon’ble Supreme Court, in its order of 26 May 2026, has upheld the validity of SIR in Bihar. 

Reality: ● The figure of 13.30 crore is misleading. It is a draft-stage figure, in which entries have been marked as dead, absent, permanently shifted, duplicate/multiple or untraced (2.8 cr dead, 3 cr absent and untraceable, 6.3 cr permanently shifted, 1 cr already enrolled). Removing ineligible entries is legally necessary to keep the voter list accurate. ● This list was shared with more than 20 lakh Booth Level Agents of all political parties. CEOs also shared it with all political parties, so that it could be checked again. ● All this data is also publicly available, so that any person can file claims and objections against any wrong inclusion or exclusion. ● The actual figures can be known only after SIR is complete. The aim of SIR is to ensure that the name of every eligible voter is registered, and absent, untraceable, permanently shifted, duplicate, foreign national and other invalid entries are removed. 

Facts: This claim is completely wrong and misleading. ● No change has been made to Form 6. During SIR, for the convenience of voters, the Declaration Form has been added with Form 6, so that the voter has to fill the form only once. ● This decision has been taken unanimously by all three Election Commissioners. ● The Hon’ble Supreme Court, in its order of 26 May, has held the whole order related to SIR, including the Declaration Form, valid. ● Talking about GenZ voters, since SIR started (24 June 2025) till now, that is, in the last 15 months, 2.37 crore GenZ voters have been added to the voter list. That means about 16 lakh every month and about 50 thousand GenZ voters every day are being added. ● Recently, the Election Commission has also decided to start special camps for young voters. ● Along with this, through Electoral Literacy Clubs (ELC) and other means, GenZ and first-time voters are continuously being made aware and their names are being added to the voter list. 

Reality: No voter’s right to vote is being taken away. The full situation is as follows: ● The unauthorised houses/settlements of Bela Estate were removed in a demolition drive in 2022–23, and under resettlement, the residents there shifted to other places. ● As per Section 19 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, to get a name registered in the voter list of a polling area, the person must be “ordinarily resident” there. So voters who no longer live at that address cannot remain in the voter list of that Part. ● During house-to-house enumeration, the BLO did not find most voters at their registered address, because they had shifted from there. ● Through a special outreach drive by the BLO and ERO, about 500 affected voters have already submitted Form-6 to get their names added at their new address. ● Any eligible voter of the area who has not applied yet can submit Form-6 with the required documents. The ERO, Chandni Chowk is fully helping in this work. ● The aim of SIR is to make sure that the name of every eligible elector is added to the voter list and no wrong entry remains. 

● No need to go to the ERO/AERO office now: People who received a notice during SIR for being unmapped or for a logical discrepancy – BLO will go to their home to take the documents and upload them on ECINet for the ERO’s decision. ● Hearing only in special circumstances: A hearing will be held only if the ERO decides so, and that too online as far as possible. If needed, the voter can authorise any adult member of the family to attend the hearing on their behalf. ● No eligible voter should be left out: For people living in night shelters, labourers, the poor and the homeless, DEOs will set up enough help desks and special camps as needed. 

● Delhi: At the request of CEO Delhi, the period for filing claims and objections has been extended to 30 October 2026. Notices and claims-objections will be disposed of by 30 November 2026. ● Maharashtra: At the request of CEO Maharashtra, the period for filing claims and objections has been extended to 12 October 2026. Notices and claims-objections will be disposed of by 10 November 2026. ● Also, one important thing that everyone should know: if the name of any eligible voter was missed during or after SIR, or someone is a young and first-time voter, they can easily get their name added by applying to their ERO under the Continuous Updation process. 

● All orders unanimous: The SIR order of 24 June 2025, the schedule for 12 States/UTs on 27 October 2025, and the schedule for 19 States/UTs on 14 May 2026 – all these were issued with the unanimous agreement of the Commission. ● Support of the Supreme Court: The Hon’ble Supreme Court, in its order of 27 May 2026, has upheld the SIR order. ● Form 6 Declaration: The Hon’ble Supreme Court has also upheld the Declaration attached with Form 6 for SIR. Outside the SIR period, only the forms applicable under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 will be used. ● Election Commission committed to adding every eligible voter to the voter list, Goa is an example: On the direction of CEO Goa, BLOs are going to the homes of missed voters and taking their forms. 81 out of 97 voters have filled Form 6 to get their names added. ● Final figures: The final figure of the total number of voters will be known only after the final publication in the remaining 12 states of Phase-III. 

 ● Access as per role: Field officers have been given role-based access on ECINET only as per their statutory powers. ● Review committee with an independent expert: A committee will be formed under the chairmanship of the Senior Deputy Election Commissioner (Sr. DEC), which will also have an independent expert from IIT/IIIT. This committee will check whether ECINET is in line with the provisions of the Acts and Rules, and will submit its report to the Commission. ● Improvements as per field needs: On the basis of suggestions received from state CEOs in the last few months, many improvements have already been made in the portal. If field officers need any more flexibility in future, that will also be implemented. ● Wide consideration of new IT initiatives: All new IT modules and portals will first be discussed in the Committee of Officers (COO). After this, they will be given the Commission’s approval. 

● Agenda and minutes of meetings: The agenda of all meetings of the Commission will be sent in advance, and their minutes will be issued. ● The APAR of all officers will be completed within the fixed time limit, that is, by 31 December every year. ● The Commission’s approval will be taken for officers’ foreign trips. 

● Letter related to an officer’s work: This letter was related to the work of an officer who came to the Commission on deputation. ● Work-redistribution orders were not implemented: The work-redistribution orders issued by the concerned officer were actually not implemented after the orders of the two Commissioners. ● DEC’s supervision of the IT Division: The Deputy Election Commissioner’s (DEC’s) supervision of the IT Division was actually never withdrawn.