The Election Commission of India (ECI) issued a revised Special Intensive Revision (SIR) schedule on Thursday for five states and one Union Territory. It extended the deadline for Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands after requests from CEOs, as reported by news agency PTI.
On Wednesday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa mentioned that the state asked the ECI for an additional two weeks to finish the SIR of electoral rolls, the report noted, In a press note, Rinwa explained that the extra time was requested so district election officers could re-verify the records of deceased voters, people who have moved, and those who cannot be located.
An SIR exercise has been ongoing across the UP since 4 November.
SIR in West Bengal
Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday described Union Home Minister Amit Shah as “dangerous” and cautioned that she would stage a dharna if “even a single eligible voter's name was struck off” during the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls.
Speaking at a rally in Krishnanagar in Nadia district, she said, “The country's home minister is dangerous. You can see it in his eyes – it's terrifying. In one eye, you see ‘Duryodhan’, and in the other, ‘Dushasan’.”
Claiming that the SIR was being used as a political tool ahead of the 2026 assembly elections, Banerjee added, “If even a single eligible voter's name is struck off, I will sit on a dharna. There will be no detention camps in West Bengal. They are so hungry for votes that they are conducting the SIR just two months before elections.”
She also mentioned that she had not yet filled out her own enumeration form.
“Do I now need to prove my citizenship to a party of rioters?” she said, in a pointed reference to the BJP.
Accusing the central government of targeting Bengalis, she stated, “We have a (Union) home minister who can do anything to label all Bengalis as Bangladeshis and send them to detention camps. But we will not allow anyone to be driven out of West Bengal. We know very well how to bring someone back if they are forced out.”
Banerjee alleged that the Election Commission was sending officials aligned with the BJP to sway the process, stating, “Some BJP-backed people are being sent from Delhi to keep an eye on things in West Bengal. They are overseeing the work of district magistrates during SIR hearings.”
