Mumbai, Oct 5 (IANS) Defending the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday described the exercise as the natural next phase of a long-standing democratic process aimed at safeguarding electoral integrity.
Addressing concerns and opposition’s pushback regarding voter list updates, the Chief Minister emphasised that intensive revisions are far from unprecedented. Instead, they constitute an essential mechanism that the Election Commission of India (ECI) has periodically deployed across decades to uphold the sanctity of the principle: “One Citizen, One Vote.”
CM Fadnavis chose to argue his case through his post on X, a day after Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray-led staged ‘Garjana Morcha’, demanding the scrapping of SIR in Maharashtra and holding elections on the ballot paper.
Highlighting the long timeline of electoral roll maintenance in post-independence India, CM Fadnavis outlined key phases where in-depth nationwide revisions were undertaken to ensure accuracy.
“During 1952-1956: The first major intensive revision conducted by the Election Commission across most parts of the country following India’s early general elections. Successive nationwide revisions executed to ensure nascent electoral rolls reflected growing populations and demographic shifts in 1957, 1961, 1965 & 1966. Periodic door-to-door enumeration drives carried out to cleanse rolls during periods of rapid political and social transition in 1983-1984, 1987-1989, 1992, 1993 & 1995. Comprehensive voter list overhauls undertaken ahead of major national polling cycles in 2002, 2003 & 2004,” he noted.
Outlining the operational reality behind voter list accuracy, CM Fadnavis stressed that intensive revisions require building electoral rolls afresh through rigorous field-level verification. “Rapid urbanisation, frequent migration, additions of newly eligible youth, unrecorded deaths, and constituency transfers continuously alter voter demographics. Over the past 20 years alone, millions of names have been added and deleted. Periodic, in-depth verification is essential so that no eligible citizen is excluded, and no illegal or duplicate entry remains,” he said.
The Chief Minister highlighted that the Special Intensive Revision operates through transparent, ground-level verification steps. “Door-to-Door Visits: Enumerators conduct physical visits to verify household voter data. Form Distribution & Collection: Distribution and collection of official Enumeration Forms directly from citizens. Record Cleaning: Updating records to remove deceased voters and eliminate duplicate registrations across constituencies. Public Verification: Allowing citizens to verify their details, correct spelling or address errors, and submit updated credentials,” he stated.
CM Fadnavis reiterated that the current SIR initiative is a routine yet essential constitutional process designed to ensure fair, transparent, and accurate elections across Maharashtra and the nation.
Meanwhile, CM Fadnavis launched a scathing attack on the rally organised by the Thackeray brothers, calling it an attempt to “reclaim lost ground”.
He pointed out that despite massive publicity, the turnout at the rally was quite low. He accused them of directing their frustration at the Election Commission after being rejected by the public. He raised strong objections to the Thackeray brothers’ persistent claims that there were irregularities in the Maharashtra Assembly elections and their demand to remove Gyanesh Kumar.
He clarified that Gyanesh Kumar became the Chief Election Commissioner in 2025, whereas the Maharashtra elections were held in 2024 and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) took place in 2026.
Questioning the logic of their allegations, CM Fadnavis asked how a Chief Election Commissioner appointed in 2025 and an SIR conducted in 2026 could possibly impact elections held in 2024.
He added that after having been rejected by the people, they were simply taking out their frustration on the Election Commission.
–IANS
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