SIR Campaign Puts BLOs Under Pressure as Voter Verification Drive Intensifies

Pune, 25th July 2026: Booth Level Officers (BLOs) engaged in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls are facing mounting challenges as the Election Commission has tightened the voter verification process. Officials could face action if a voter’s name is deleted from the electoral roll based on incorrect or insufficient information.

Under the ongoing SIR exercise, BLOs are responsible for verifying voter details, distributing enumeration forms and digitising voter records before the publication of the revised electoral roll. The latest guidelines require BLOs to submit detailed documentation for every voter whose name is proposed for deletion, increasing both accountability and workload.

Each BLO has been assigned between 300 and 2,100 voters, with the average workload ranging from 1,200 to 1,400 electors. In urban areas, the verification process has become particularly challenging due to outdated addresses, migration, deaths and incomplete voter records.

Officials have also reported difficulties in tracing newly enrolled voters, many of whom are unknown to neighbours or local representatives. The absence of updated mobile numbers and limited cooperation from some residents have further complicated the verification exercise.

According to the Pune District Election Branch, the district has 90,80,173 registered voters. The campaign aims to distribute enumeration forms to every voter by August 8. So far, forms have been distributed to 60,39,125 voters, while the digitisation of 35 lakh applications has been completed.

Election officials said strict verification is mandatory before any name can be removed from the electoral roll. In the case of deceased voters, a death certificate is required. For migrated or absent voters, BLOs must conduct and document three separate field inspections (panchanamas). If a voter is found to have duplicate registrations, proof of enrolment in another constituency must also be submitted before the name can be deleted.

With strict accountability measures in place and a large-scale verification exercise underway, BLOs are working under considerable pressure to update the electoral rolls accurately while avoiding wrongful deletions.