82.82% electoral roll mapping completed in Patiala, District Election Officer calls for active BLA participation in SIR

82.82% electoral roll mapping completed in Patiala, District Election Officer calls for active BLA participation in SIR

Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in News/ May 27,2026

District Election Officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner Patiala Dr Himanshu Aggarwal today held a meeting with representatives of various political parties regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls being conducted by the Election Commission of India. He appealed to all political parties to appoint their Booth Level Agents (BLAs) at the earliest for smooth implementation of the process.

Dr Himanshu Aggarwal said the objective of the Election Commission is to ensure inclusion of every eligible citizen in the voter list and removal of ineligible persons. He said that holding duplicate votes is an offence under the Constitution of India and carries punishment of up to one year imprisonment. He sought cooperation from all political parties in ensuring fair and transparent electoral rolls.

Addressing mediapersons after the meeting, the Deputy Commissioner informed that under the SIR exercise, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will conduct door-to-door verification across Punjab from June 25 to July 24, 2026 and get voter forms filled. He said the district administration has deployed 1786 BLOs, 185 Supervisors, 8 EROs and 16 AEROs for this exercise. Training of BLOs and preparatory arrangements related to the SIR process will be carried out from June 15 to June 24, 2026.

The District Election Officer said that a similar Special Intensive Revision was conducted in Punjab in 2003 and the current exercise is being carried out on the basis of that revision. He added that 82.82 percent mapping of voter lists with the 2003 electoral rolls has already been completed in Patiala district.

Dr Himanshu Aggarwal asked political parties to complete the appointment of Booth Level Agents without delay so that they can be trained alongside BLOs in time. He said the role of BLAs is extremely important and information at every stage of the SIR process will be shared with them to ensure complete transparency. He also urged parties to complete the process of appointing BLA-1 representatives at the earliest. He informed that till now only the Aam Aadmi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and Congress Party have appointed district-level representatives.

He further said that the office of the District Election Officer will remain in continuous contact with political parties throughout the SIR process. During the meeting, representatives of political parties raised certain queries regarding the exercise, which were addressed by Dr Himanshu Aggarwal. He assured all stakeholders that the entire process would be carried out in a transparent manner.

The Deputy Commissioner also informed that for the convenience of voters and political parties, toll-free helpline number 1950 will remain functional throughout the SIR process. A district-level help desk is also being established to facilitate the public.

Representatives of the Aam Aadmi Party, Indian National Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal, Bharatiya Janata Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Hindustan Shakti Sena and Communist Party of India (Marxist), along with Election Tehsildar Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, were present during the meeting.

Appealing to all eligible voters, Dr Himanshu Aggarwal asked them to provide necessary information and documents to the BLOs during verification. He said voters whose details could not be mapped with the 2003 electoral rolls would have to produce documents authorised by the Election Commission of India.

He said the valid documents include identity cards or pension payment orders issued to regular employees or pensioners of Central/State Governments or PSUs, identity documents issued by government departments, local authorities, banks, post offices, LIC and PSUs, birth certificates, passports, matriculation or educational certificates issued by recognised boards and universities, permanent residence certificates, forest rights certificates, caste certificates, National Register of Citizens documents wherever applicable, family registers and government-issued land or house allotment certificates.