NEW DELHI/PATNA : Notwithstanding the raging controversy around the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar electoral rolls, the Election Commission of India (ECI) is now preparing to launch and initiate a similar exercise in West Bengal and New Delhi sometime in August this year, sources in the poll panel told this newspaper on Sunday.

The last time the ECI verified electoral rolls in West Bengal and New Delhi was in 2002 and 2008, respectively. “As the assembly elections will be due in West Bengal after Bihar, we are preparing for the exercise in advance,” a source said.

For New Delhi, the Chief Electoral Officer has notified the cut-off date for the revision as March 16, 2008. This means that all voter names added to the rolls after this date will now be subject to verification. Individuals falling in this category will be required to furnish documentary proof of citizenship to retain their names on the electoral list.

The ECI said the revision exercise in Bihar has been going on smoothly and the initial phase of it has been completed. In an official statement, the ECI said, “It is reiterated that SIR is being conducted in Bihar as per instructions issued on June 24 and there is no change in the instructions. The draft electoral rolls that will be issued on August 1, 2025 will contain the names of persons whose enumeration forms are received.”

It said electors can submit any one of the 11 specified documents anytime before July 25, 2024. “After publication of Draft Electoral Rolls, if any document is deficient, EROs can obtain such documents, from the electors whose name appears in the draft Electoral Roll, during scrutiny in the claims and objection period,” it noted.

“The new directive has provided a great relief to people, as they have been given a relaxation of nearly 45 days to submit required documents,” said a senior official posted at the Bihar CEO office in Patna.

Highlighting the need for the SIR in the country, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar told this newspaper that during the past four months, “all 4,123 EROs, all 775 DEOs and all 6 CEOs have held nearly 5,000 meetings with 28,000 political party representatives”. “ECI has invited all recognised political parties for interaction. No one was satisfied with the current status of electoral rolls for one reason or the other.”

The deadline for submission of forms is July 26.

Mahua, RJD move supreme court

Trinamool Congress leader and Member of Parliament Mahua Moitra has moved the Supreme Court challenging an order of the Election Commission of India for special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar. “ECI has introduced it to deprive bonafide young electorate of Bihar. Later, they will target Bengal,” Moitra told a news agency. In her plea, Moitra sought a direction to restrain ECI from issuing similar orders in other states of the country. The RJD and an NGO have also moved the top court