New Delhi [India], June 30 (ANI): Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls began with a house-to-house visit of the Booth Level Officers (BLOs) in five states, including Delhi, Karnataka, Meghalaya, Maharashtra and Jharkhand, re-igniting a tug of war between the ruling and the opposition camps on Tuesday.
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta completed the formalities by submitting the enumeration form for herself and her family, while urging all eligible electors in the national capital to participate in the ongoing exercise.
According to the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO)’s statement, CM Gupta appealed to voters to accurately fill their Enumeration Forms and submit them to their respective Booth Level Officers (BLOs) within the prescribed timeline.
“Chief Minister Smt. Rekha Gupta today completed the formalities under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) by submitting the Enumeration Form for herself and her family. She appealed to all eligible electors in Delhi to participate in the ongoing revision process by filling their Enumeration Forms accurately and submitting them to their respective Booth Level Officers (BLOs) within the prescribed timeline,” Delhi CMO’s X post read.
Karnataka CM DK Shivakumar also filled out the enumeration form at his Sadashivanagar residence.
Raising concerns over the SIR exercise, the INDIA bloc parties, with the Aam Aadmi Party and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on board, wrote a joint letter to the Chief Justice of India. Sources told ANI the INDIA bloc managed to get signatures of the DMK and AAP in the joint letter after hectic talks.
This came as a major breakthrough for the Opposition, which witnessed cracks after Congress quit the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance in Tamil Nadu. AAP had also quit the INDIA bloc; however, it came on board to raise concerns over the SIR exercise.
In a post on X, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh noted that the letter initially discussed at an INDIA ‘Janbandhan’ meeting on June 8 was signed by 23 political parties and one Independent leader.
“21 political parties plus one Independent attended the INDIA Janbandhan meeting on June 8, 2026, where a decision was taken to address a joint letter to the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India on the SIR process of the Election Commission of India and other election-related issues. Accordingly, a joint letter now signed by 23 political parties plus one Independent has been sent to the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India today. The Opposition parties are firmly anchored in SURE–Solidarity, Unity and REsistance,” Ramesh wrote on X.
DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai noted that his party has signed the Opposition’s joint letter to the CJI, terming the SIR exercise “arbitrary” and “anti-democratic.”
“It operates on the premise of disenfranchising voters, whereas any democracy should be about franchising people. Universal Adult Franchise is the cornerstone on which any democracy functions. However, the current SIR process seeks to ensure that voters are weeded out of the electoral rolls. We have signed the petition demanding that such arbitrary exercises be stopped,” Annadurai told ANI.
AAP Delhi President Saurabh Bhardwaj also said that the party stands with the opposition on the issues raised while not being a part of the INDIA bloc.
Bhardwaj said, “While we are not part of the ‘INDIA’ alliance, whenever the opposition needs the Aam Aadmi Party, whether in Parliament or on the streets, we stand firmly with the opposition’s issues on principle. Sanjay Singh acts as a strong voice for the opposition in Parliament.”
Sharpening Congress’ attack against the ECI, Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge alleged that the poll body was functioning as “puppets” under political pressure from the Centre rather than acting independently.
Speaking to reporters, Kharge targeted the poll body for pushing ahead with the exercise without replying to the state Cabinet over their demands.
“We have raised 12 objections to the way SIR is conducted. We were expecting the CEC to reply. Unfortunately, they have not responded. We will see what to do. The CEC and the Election Commission are puppets in the hands of the government. It is clear that the government has no popular vote among the people, so they want to do these things,” he said.
Karnataka Energy Minister KJ George said the Congress is taking the SIR of electoral rolls very seriously. He said, “Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, former CM Siddaramaiah, and our KPCC President are working on this across the state. No matter what we do, every eligible citizen must participate, fill out the enumeration forms, and submit them.”
While the Opposition witnessed a sign of unity, the BJP hit back, saying that DK Shivakumar became the brand ambassador of the SIR in the state.
BJP National Spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari said, “Even the Congress party itself is not taking it seriously. DK Shivakumar, the Congress Chief Minister of Karnataka, was the one who launched SIR in the state and became its brand ambassador there. The reality is that during every election season, the Congress seeks excuses to mask the repeated electoral failures of the Gandhi-Vadra family. Sometimes they blame EVMs, sometimes they allege vote theft, and at other times, they raise issues like SIR.”
Former Karnataka Minister and BJP MLA Prabhu Chauhan urged the public to cooperate with the SIR of electoral rolls starting from today, while accusing the Congress of making “baseless allegations” against the exercise.
Speaking to reporters, Chauhan stated that the process is a necessary step toward the “purification” of the voter list and clarified that it is being conducted by an independent institution.
“From June 30, the SIR process has started in the state. I have a request to the people of Karnataka. Your Booth Level Officer (BLO) will come to your house and give you two forms. You must provide complete details of your family. You must give full information. For that, you should cooperate and not create problems,” Chauhan said.
“Congress is accusing the central government. Why? Because this central government does not have our institution here. The Election Commission conducts elections; it is an independent institution. Today, there is a Congress government here. This is the first time under Congress’ rule that SIR is happening. We are not doing it; the institution is doing it. But Congress is making baseless allegations,” the Karnataka BJP leader asserted.
The House-to-House visit by the BLOs began today in Karnataka, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Delhi, with October 1 as the qualifying date for the SIR.
The draft roll will be published on August 5, with claims and objections from August 5 to September 4. The notice phase and disposal will conclude on October 3, and the final electoral roll will be published on October 7. (ANI)
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