ECI just extended the deadline for the voter rolls cleanup—the controversial SIR exercise—by a full week. The final list is now Feb 14th. The Opposition is calling it a win; EC insists it’s for “transparency.” BLOs say it’s not nearly enough. Field notes on the political flashpoint.
The Election Commission (EC) finally moved. They extended the whole schedule for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls. It’s across 12 states, massive work. This happened Sunday. They added a week. A week.
The final voters’ list? That’s now February 14th. Not the 7th. They were under serious heat, obviously. The Opposition—Samajwadi Party, TMC—they were screaming about tight deadlines. Saying it was messing with officials. Hurting voters.
The EC’s spin? It’s for “full transparency.”
The New Timeline (Jotting Down Key Dates)
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Enumeration Forms: Now until December 11th. (Used to be Dec 4th).
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Draft Rolls Published: Now December 16th. (Used to be Dec 9th).
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Claims/Objections Period: Stretches to January 15th, 2026.
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Final Voters’ List: February 14th, 2026.
An EC official—kept his name quiet, of course—said the extra week is to let Booth-Level Officers (BLOs) share data with Booth-Level Agents (BLAs). Dead voters, shifted voters, duplicate names. That list. Gotta get that right, apparently. This is before the draft rolls even come out.
The Political Fight
The Opposition went right at them. They said the extension proves the EC went into this without any plan. Hasty, ill-conceived. That chaos happened. And then the extension follows.
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Akhilesh Yadav (SP): One week is a joke. Not enough. He said BLOs are under pressure. It’s affecting their “physical and mental well-being.” The EC is “insensitive.”
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Trinamool Congress (TMC): They’ve linked dozens of deaths in West Bengal to the stress of this SIR exercise. They called the new schedule a vindication of their stand. They’re claiming this was rushed because the BJP told them to.
The BJP just hit back. Said the Opposition is politicizing a procedural step. A Union minister, Sukanta Majumdar, went on record saying the TMC is just trying to “stall the SIR” because they want to win with the votes of “infiltrators.” Heavy charge, that.
The Ground Reality
The thing is, the BLOs—the ones actually doing the door-to-door work—they’re calling this a “partial victory.” A schoolteacher, a BLO, requested anonymity and said they need at least two more months. If not three. To do the job thoroughly.
And look at the numbers. Digitization is crawling in the big states. Uttar Pradesh, massive state, over 150 million electors, they’re only at 69.56% digitization. Kerala, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu—they’re all struggling to hit 90%.
The EC had a choice to make. They chose a week. It calmed some noise. But the pressure is still on the BLOs. And the political fight? That’s definitely ongoing, especially with Assembly elections due next year in West Bengal, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.
