- Maharashtra SEC requests ECI to defer Special Intensive Revision till Jan 2026.
- Reason: officials occupied with extensive local body elections.
- Elections due for 29 corporations, 247 councils, and other local bodies.
- Ward delimitation process nearing completion across the state.
GG News Bureau
Mumbai, 14th Oct: The Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) has requested the Election Commission of India (ECI) to postpone any plans to conduct the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state until January 2026, citing the heavy administrative workload due to upcoming local body elections.
In a letter dated September 9, the SEC noted that field officials, including deputy collectors and tahsildars, will be fully engaged in conducting polls for municipal corporations, municipal councils, nagar panchayats, zilla parishads, and panchayat samitis across the state.
“The honourable Supreme Court of India, in its order dated May 6, 2025, directed the State Election Commission to make an endeavour to conclude elections to local bodies in Maharashtra within four months, with liberty to seek extension in appropriate cases,” the SEC stated.
Elections are due for 29 municipal corporations, 247 municipal councils, 42 nagar panchayats, 32 zilla parishads, and 336 panchayat samitis, according to a senior official. The SEC added that the same officials responsible for the SIR will also serve as Returning and Assistant Returning Officers for the local body elections.
The SEC also informed the ECI that ward delimitation for municipal bodies is nearing completion, following which officials must carry out the bifurcation of legislative assembly electoral rolls for local body polls.
The Special Intensive Revision is a comprehensive exercise involving a house-to-house enumeration of voters to prepare fresh electoral rolls, typically undertaken when existing lists are outdated or inaccurate.
The SEC’s request follows similar controversy in Bihar, where an SIR conducted earlier this year ahead of assembly polls faced opposition criticism for allegedly excluding several registered voters.
