Published Oct 02, 2026 | 10:29 AM ⚊ Updated Oct 02, 2026 | 10:56 AM
Election Commission of India (ECI) (Wikimedia Commons)
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced a “special drive” with the standard Form 6 to enrol voters left out of the electoral rolls after its Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in 20 states and Union Territories.
An additional question introduced by the ECI in July in Form 6 had asked applicants to state whether their own name or their parents’ names appeared in the electoral roll from the most recent SIR, and barred submission without an answer. This created difficulties for first-time voters and those seeking to restore their names to the rolls whose parents’ names had been deleted.
The Indian Express also found that two Election Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, questioned the legality of adding the question and advised that the government should have made the change.
Now, that additional question has been removed from Form 6 in states where the SIR exercise has been completed.
The announcement of the new drive comes amid intense criticism of the Election Commission and ahead of the Opposition’s nationwide Save Democracy campaign beginning on Friday, October 2, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, who is facing allegations of deliberately manipulating the electoral rolls through mass deletion and addition of voters through the SIR.
According to the Indian Express report, instructions to conduct a “special drive” to enrol “left-out” voters were issued in writing on September 29 to Chief Electoral Officers in states and Union Territories where the SIR exercise was complete. The Commission reiterated this during a video conference with state officials on the same day.
In a letter to the CEOs, the Election Commission’s Secretary wrote, “In State/UTs where SIR has already been completed, a special drive shall be undertaken by the Chief Electoral Officer, District Election Officers and EROs for the enrolment of left out and young/first time eligible electors under the process of continuous updation.”
The additional question had been inserted without amending Form 6. The September 29 letter restricted the question strictly to active SIR phases, allowing voters in the 20 states where the revision is complete to register using the original, standard form.
The CEOs of states where SIR has been completed have been told to compare the pre-SIR roll with the post-SIR roll, draw up the list of those deleted, and identify the voters who have been left out. They have been asked to visit houses, especially in cases where the voters are marked as “unmapped” and not duplicate or deceased and get their Form 6 filled out. The CEOs have been directed to seek the help of political parties (or booth-level agents of political parties) for the exercise.
The move came amid intense scrutiny and criticism over the recent revelations regarding internal dissent within the ECI. The directives were issued a day before the Opposition INDIA bloc, on September 30, announced a nationwide campaign beginning Friday that includes protest marches at district headquarters, public meetings, a march to the ECI office and a joint appeal to the Chief Justice for expedited hearings in cases related to the SIR.
(Compiled by Fayisa CA)
