Chandigarh, May 14
The Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Punjab will be carried out in a fully transparent manner, Chief Electoral Officer Punjab Anindita Mitra announced today. She stated that the Election Commission of India has issued a notification directing the conduct of SIR in the state.
Under this exercise, from June 25 to July 24, 2026, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will visit households across Punjab to collect voter forms. A total of 24,453 BLOs, 2,476 supervisors, 117 EROs, and 234 AEROs will be deployed. Each BLO will cover an average of 300 households and 1,200 voters. Training for BLOs and other preparatory work will be conducted between June 15 and June 24, 2026.
“Our objective is to ensure that every eligible citizen is included in the electoral rolls and ineligible persons are excluded. Holding dual voter registration is a crime under the Constitution of India, punishable with up to one year’s imprisonment,” Mitra emphasized.
Mitra explained that all voters in the state must fill out forms during the SIR. In the pre‑SIR mapping exercise, out of Punjab’s 21,457,160 voters, 17,956,656 have already been mapped, representing 83.69%. Mapping completion in rural areas stands at 89.58%, while in urban areas it is 73%.
The eligibility date for inclusion in the rolls has been set as January 1, 2003. Rationalization of polling stations will be completed by July 24, 2026, and the draft rolls will be published on July 31, 2026. Claims and objections can be filed between July 31 and August 30, 2026, with disposal scheduled from July 31 to September 28, 2026. The final publication of electoral rolls will take place on October 1, 2026.
Mitra appealed to all voters in Punjab to cooperate with BLOs during the SIR. For convenience, the rolls with eligibility date January 1, 2003 have been merged with current rolls, so voters will not face difficulty locating older lists. BLOs will make up to three visits to households to collect forms. Aadhaar will be accepted only as a source of identification, not as proof of identity.
Mitra also urged all political parties in Punjab to appoint block‑level agents to ensure smooth conduct of the exercise. Political parties will be involved at every stage of the SIR. In this regard, she will hold a meeting with state political parties on May 15, 2026, to share complete details of the process.
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