The Crossbill News Desk
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has urged the Election Commission of India to immediately withdraw the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging that the exercise is undermining democratic rights and creating widespread anxiety among voters.
In a letter addressed to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, CPI(M) general secretary M.A. Baby contended that the current revision process departs significantly from established legal and constitutional norms.
He argued that the SIR does not begin with a “blank roll” as mandated under the law for such intensive revisions and claimed that instead of facilitating systematic additions, it appears to be structured in a manner that prioritises deletions.
"While citizenship is a prerequisite for voter enrolment, its determination does not fall within the jurisdiction of the Election Commission of India. Under the guise of the SIR what is becoming apparent is the initiation of the process to determine citizenship. Utterances by the Assam Chief Minister have only added grist to the mill," he said.
"The right to vote is the bedrock of our democracy. Any process that threatens its universal and equal exercise must be halted and reconsidered with utmost seriousness...we once again urge the Election Commission of India to abandon this exercise is turning into a war against the people," he said.
Baby acknowledged that periodic revision of electoral rolls is a routine and essential democratic requirement but maintained that the “manner, timing and methodology” of the present exercise sharply diverge from past practice.
Far from being a routine, transparent, and citizen-friendly process, he said it has turned into a "chaotic, arbitrary, and exclusionary exercise" that threatens both the integrity of the electoral rolls and the fundamental right to vote.
In his communication, he raised concerns over what he described as an “unrealistically compressed timeframe” for the exercise, warning that it could “inevitably vitiates the electoral atmosphere and fraught with the danger of large-scale” errors and exclusions.
He also criticised the alleged lack of consultation and said the process places the “burden” on already-enrolled voters to “re-establish their eligibility, failing which deletion is threatened” that is “arbitrary, unlawful, and contrary to settled procedure”.
"Our apprehension that the design and implementation of the SIR would closely resemble the proposed NRC exercise, and would lead to selective disenfranchisement of certain communities, is turning true," he said.
Referring to experiences from states where the revision has been undertaken, Baby pointed to reported issues including non-delivery of enumeration forms, limited awareness about alternative procedures, restricted access to digital platforms and stringent documentary requirements. He alleged that marginalised communities and minorities, particularly women in rural areas, have been disproportionately affected.
"The marginalised and minorities, especially women in the rural areas, have been disproportionally impacted. Like in Bihar where we saw the proportion of voters to population decrease, we fear the same will be repeated in other states as well. Widespread misuse of Form 7 by individuals, in some cases a single individual filing hundreds of these forms have surfaced in Assam, Rajasthan and some other states," he said.
In Assam, Baby said it has been reported that there is widespread misuse of Form 7 through mass third-party objections filed using misappropriated Election Photo Identity Card (EPIC) and mobile numbers.
He said voters in Kerala erroneously deleted are being forced to apply afresh using Form 6, rendering their old EPICs invalid and treating them as new voters for no fault of theirs.
Citing developments in Tamil Nadu, he alleged that around 97 lakh voters were removed from the base list, with unusually high numbers marked as “dead” or “not traceable,” which he said exceeded plausible demographic trends.
He further claimed that improper notices are being issued, searchable lists are unavailable and political parties have not been provided relevant data for verification. Married women, tenants and displaced persons are among those disproportionately impacted, he added.
In West Bengal, Baby alleged that an untested and opaque software system is being used to flag ‘logical discrepancies’, resulting in mass, automated notices, contrary to representations made before the Supreme Court.
"Electoral officers are being forced into quasi-judicial determinations affecting nearly 1.5 crore electors within impossibly short timelines. A parallel system with the appointment of micro-observers undermining the regular channels of the EC been put in place in the state. The SIR in West Bengal has turned out to be one of the most controversial. Large sections of the population are going through nightmares and a number of voters have taken their own lives, unable to cope with it," he added.
The Election Commission has not yet publicly responded to the CPI(M)’s latest objections, even as political debate over the SIR intensifies across several states.
In a letter addressed to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, CPI(M) general secretary M.A. Baby contended that the current revision process departs significantly from established legal and constitutional norms.
He argued that the SIR does not begin with a “blank roll” as mandated under the law for such intensive revisions and claimed that instead of facilitating systematic additions, it appears to be structured in a manner that prioritises deletions.
"While citizenship is a prerequisite for voter enrolment, its determination does not fall within the jurisdiction of the Election Commission of India. Under the guise of the SIR what is becoming apparent is the initiation of the process to determine citizenship. Utterances by the Assam Chief Minister have only added grist to the mill," he said.
"The right to vote is the bedrock of our democracy. Any process that threatens its universal and equal exercise must be halted and reconsidered with utmost seriousness...we once again urge the Election Commission of India to abandon this exercise is turning into a war against the people," he said.
. @MABABYCPIM, General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), has written a Petition to the Chief Election Commissioner, regarding the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (#SIR) of Electoral Rolls. pic.twitter.com/9QnT8SnZ9J
— CPI (M) (@cpimspeak) February 14, 2026
Baby acknowledged that periodic revision of electoral rolls is a routine and essential democratic requirement but maintained that the “manner, timing and methodology” of the present exercise sharply diverge from past practice.
Far from being a routine, transparent, and citizen-friendly process, he said it has turned into a "chaotic, arbitrary, and exclusionary exercise" that threatens both the integrity of the electoral rolls and the fundamental right to vote.
In his communication, he raised concerns over what he described as an “unrealistically compressed timeframe” for the exercise, warning that it could “inevitably vitiates the electoral atmosphere and fraught with the danger of large-scale” errors and exclusions.
He also criticised the alleged lack of consultation and said the process places the “burden” on already-enrolled voters to “re-establish their eligibility, failing which deletion is threatened” that is “arbitrary, unlawful, and contrary to settled procedure”.
"Our apprehension that the design and implementation of the SIR would closely resemble the proposed NRC exercise, and would lead to selective disenfranchisement of certain communities, is turning true," he said.
Referring to experiences from states where the revision has been undertaken, Baby pointed to reported issues including non-delivery of enumeration forms, limited awareness about alternative procedures, restricted access to digital platforms and stringent documentary requirements. He alleged that marginalised communities and minorities, particularly women in rural areas, have been disproportionately affected.
"The marginalised and minorities, especially women in the rural areas, have been disproportionally impacted. Like in Bihar where we saw the proportion of voters to population decrease, we fear the same will be repeated in other states as well. Widespread misuse of Form 7 by individuals, in some cases a single individual filing hundreds of these forms have surfaced in Assam, Rajasthan and some other states," he said.
In Assam, Baby said it has been reported that there is widespread misuse of Form 7 through mass third-party objections filed using misappropriated Election Photo Identity Card (EPIC) and mobile numbers.
He said voters in Kerala erroneously deleted are being forced to apply afresh using Form 6, rendering their old EPICs invalid and treating them as new voters for no fault of theirs.
Citing developments in Tamil Nadu, he alleged that around 97 lakh voters were removed from the base list, with unusually high numbers marked as “dead” or “not traceable,” which he said exceeded plausible demographic trends.
He further claimed that improper notices are being issued, searchable lists are unavailable and political parties have not been provided relevant data for verification. Married women, tenants and displaced persons are among those disproportionately impacted, he added.
In West Bengal, Baby alleged that an untested and opaque software system is being used to flag ‘logical discrepancies’, resulting in mass, automated notices, contrary to representations made before the Supreme Court.
"Electoral officers are being forced into quasi-judicial determinations affecting nearly 1.5 crore electors within impossibly short timelines. A parallel system with the appointment of micro-observers undermining the regular channels of the EC been put in place in the state. The SIR in West Bengal has turned out to be one of the most controversial. Large sections of the population are going through nightmares and a number of voters have taken their own lives, unable to cope with it," he added.
The Election Commission has not yet publicly responded to the CPI(M)’s latest objections, even as political debate over the SIR intensifies across several states.
Comments (0)
Leave a Comment