The Election Commission of India (ECI) informed the Madras High Court on Friday that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rotations in Tamil Nadu would begin within a week, according to reports from LiveLaw. The announcement comes amid criticism from Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. K. Stalin, who compared similar practices in Bihar to “playing with fire.”
A day earlier, the ECI had instructed Chief Electoral Officers across states and Union Territories to complete their preparations for the upcoming SIR during a two-day conference. Reports indicate that the Commission is expected to announce a nationwide rollout of the revision process in the coming days, with the first phase set to cover over ten states and one Union Territory, including election-bound Assam, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, and West Bengal, Maktoob Media reported.
An official statement from the conference noted that the Commission held one-on-one discussions with the CEOs of these poll-bound regions to review their readiness for the revision exercise.
The Madras High Court made note of the update while hearing a petition filed by former AIADMK MLA B. Sathyanarayanan, who sought a complete and transparent re-verification of voter rolls across 229 booths in the T. Nagar constituency. Representing the ECI, standing counsel Niranjan Rajagopal told the court that the upcoming SIR would address the concerns raised by the petitioner.
The SIR process has become controversial, facing multiple challenges in the Supreme Court from opposition parties, political leaders, and civil society groups.
Sathyanarayanan, who contested the 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections from T. Nagar, alleged widespread irregularities in voter list maintenance. He claimed that he lost the election by just 137 votes due to the mass deletion of legitimate voters from the constituency’s rolls.