Kohima, August 4 (MExN): The Election Commission of India has ordered a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in Nagaland, with October 1, 2026 fixed as the qualifying date, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of the state said in a notification.
The Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) of each Assembly constituency will be responsible for ensuring that no eligible citizen is left out and no ineligible person is included in the electoral roll during the exercise, the notification said.
Ahead of the field exercise, a preparatory stage, covering preparation, training and printing will be undertaken from August 5 to 14. This will involve meetings with important stakeholders, including political parties, setting up of help desks, training of BLOs and officials connected with the SIR, dissemination of important information, and printing of Enumeration Forms and their issuance to the BLOs.
According to the schedule, house-to-house visits by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will be carried out from August 16 to September 14. During these visits, BLOs will distribute Enumeration Forms, containing pre-printed details of existing electors, in duplicate to each elector and guide them in filling up the forms. Every elector is required to submit the filled form along with the requisite information to the BLO.
The BLOs will then make a second round of visits to every household to collect the filled copies of the Enumeration Form. The BLO will retain one copy of the form and give an acknowledgment of receipt on the other copy, which will be retained by the applicant, the notification said.
Based on the house-to-house enumeration, the ERO of each constituency will also assess the need for new polling stations, ensuring that no polling station has more than 1,200 electors except with prior approval of the Commission. EROs have also been directed to ensure that polling station areas are so defined and demarcated that no overlap exists with any other polling station. This exercise of rationalisation of polling stations is to be completed by September 14.
The draft electoral roll will be published on September 20 and will include only the names of electors who have submitted duly filled Enumeration Forms to the BLO during the H2H enumeration period or which have been received online and verified by BLO. Names of other electors, from whom Enumeration Forms are not received, will not be included in the draft roll. In case any elector is unable to submit their filled in enumeration forms within the specified time, they may file Form 6 along with the prescribed Declaration Form for inclusion during the claims and objections period.
The period for claims and objections will run from September 20 to October 20, during which EROs and Assistant EROs (AEROs) will scrutinise the eligibility of proposed electors under Article 326 of the Constitution and Sections 16 and 19 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, based on submitted documents and field reports.
A notice phase for disposal of claims and objections will follow from September 20 to November 18. In cases where the eligibility of a proposed elector is in doubt due to non-submission of documents or other reasons, the ERO or AERO will initiate a suo motu enquiry and issue notice before deciding on inclusion in the final roll. EROs will also refer cases of suspected foreign nationals to the competent authority under the Citizenship Act, 1955, the notification said.
The final electoral roll for the state will be published on November 22, it said.
Describing the SIR as a participative exercise, the CEO's office appealed to all stakeholders, including electors, political parties and election officials, to extend cooperation and support in preparing an error-free electoral roll for the state.
