Dharamshala, June 5 (IANS) Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Friday arrived in Himachal Pradesh’s Dharamshala and interacted with election officials and Booth Level Officers (BLOs).

CEC Gyanesh Kumar spoke to BLOs and appreciated their efforts in updating electoral rolls and maintaining the purity of the voters’ list.

The CEC’s visit comes at a time when state election officials have begun preparations for Assembly elections expected to be held in November 2027 to elect all 68 members.

Earlier, the Election Commission of India (ECI) said that the enumeration phase of the Special Intensive Revision – Phase III has started in Odisha, Mizoram, Sikkim, and Manipur.

An official said in a statement that the enumeration phase for Odisha, Mizoram, Sikkim, and Manipur began on May 3.

“All eligible electors whose Enumeration Forms are received by the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) on or before June 28, 2026, will be included in the Draft Electoral Rolls,” the ECI said.

“Electors who are unable to submit their Enumeration Forms by June 28, 2026, may apply through Form-6 along with the prescribed Declaration Form during the claims and objections period,” it added.

During the enumeration phase of SIR, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) conduct house-to-house visits and provide Enumeration Forms to all existing electors.

The ECI said electors may submit the duly filled form either through the BLO or online.

To ensure maximum coverage, BLOs will visit each household to distribute, collect, and verify forms.

“During house-to-house enumeration, the BLOs carry at least 30 blank Form-6 along with blank Declaration Forms, to supply to anyone who seeks to enroll as a new elector,” it added.

“With a view to ensuring more involvement of political parties, the Commission has allowed Booth Level Agents (BLAs) of recognised political parties to collect from the public, up to 50 forms/day and hand them over to the BLO before the Draft Publication,” the ECI said.

National and state-recognised political parties may appoint more BLAs to assist BLOs in the smooth and effective conduct of the SIR process, the Commission added.

The ECI, in exercise of its powers under Article 324 of the Constitution of India, Section 21, along with other applicable provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, ordered SIR in 16 states and 3 Union Territories (UTs) on May 14.

The Commission said the main objective of the SIR is to ensure that no eligible citizen is left out and that no ineligible person is included in the Electoral Roll.

–IANS

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