The process has become an operation marked by poor planning, impossible deadlines and dangerous working conditions, says the party
NEW DELHI — The CPI(M) on Saturday renewed its sharp criticism of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, accusing the Election Commission of running a “chaotic and arbitrary” exercise that risks massive disenfranchisement across the country. The party has demanded that the EC immediately halt the process and correct what it called systemic flaws endangering both voters and field staff.
In a strongly worded statement, the CPI(M) Polit Bureau said what should have been a “routine, transparent and citizen-friendly” update of the voter list has instead become an operation marked by poor planning, impossible deadlines and dangerous working conditions.
According to the party, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have been forced into an “inhuman workload” as they race to complete door-to-door verification. “The entire exercise is being conducted in a tearing hurry,” the statement said, warning that this rushed approach is already producing errors, exclusions and avoidable tragedies. Several deaths of overburdened BLOs have been reported from different states, it noted. They were “not accidental casualties but a direct outcome of an irresponsible administrative process”.
The CPI(M) flagged disturbing reports of BLOs being compelled to sit in the offices of political parties and ask voters to come there for verification — a violation of norms that can intimidate citizens and compromise neutrality. The party said such practices inevitably lead to further errors and large-scale disenfranchisement.
The statement also questioned why the Election Commission is not using its own duplicate-voter detection software, a tool designed precisely to reduce manual strain and improve accuracy. Its non-use, the CPI(M) said, raises “serious concerns about the real intent behind the current revision”.
Compounding the crisis are severe technical glitches. BLOs as well as ordinary voters are struggling with unstable servers, poor internet connectivity and repeated platform failures. For many citizens — particularly in rural and marginalised communities — even uploading a basic form has become “an ordeal”, effectively creating new barriers to voter inclusion.
Calling the SIR process “deeply flawed and unsafe”, the CPI(M) urged the EC to immediately stop the ongoing revision, address the procedural and technical lapses, protect BLOs from exploitative workloads, and ensure that no voter is wrongfully removed from the rolls.
