Bhopal/Raipur, Nov 30 (IANS) The Election Commission of India has announced a seven-day extension in the on-going Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Madhya Pradesh, pushing the final publication of the updated voter list from the earlier deadline to February 14, 2026. Under the revised schedule, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will continue the house-to-house filling of counting sheets until December 11, while the draft electoral rolls will be published on December 16.

Citizens can file claims and objections between December 16 and January 15, with document verification and field inquiries scheduled from December 16 to February 7.

The final voter list, incorporating all verified additions, deletions and corrections, will now be released on February 14.

The extension comes amid complaints from political parties and civil society groups that the original timeline was too compressed, especially in rural and tribal pockets where voters faced difficulties in obtaining and submitting required documents.

However, the Chhattisgarh unit of the Congress has termed the seven-day relief “grossly inadequate”.

Addressing the media in Raipur, state Congress president Deepak Baij said the party had already submitted a detailed memorandum to both the State Election Commission and the Election Commission of India demanding a full three-month extension. “The one-week extension is nothing more than an eyewash,” Baij charged.

“Lakhs of young voters, particularly first-time voters who turned 18 this year, along with women and people from remote areas, are still struggling to get their names enrolled or corrected. A meaningful revision cannot be completed in such a hurried manner.”

The Congress leader pointed out that similar demands for longer revision periods had been raised by other opposition parties and voter-awareness groups across Madhya Pradesh.

He warned that any attempt to rush the process would lead to large-scale disenfranchisement and vowed to take the matter up with the full bench of the Election Commission if the timeline is not substantially relaxed.

Political circles in both Bhopal and Raipur are now watching whether the Election Commission will consider the opposition’s demand for a longer window or stick to the modestly extended February 14 deadline.

–IANS

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