Mumbai, May 27 (IANS) The Congress on Wednesday urged Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officer S. Chockalingam not to conduct the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise during the Pandharpur Wari and the heavy rainfall period between June 30 and July 29, and instead postpone it by a month.

In a letter, Maharashtra Congress President Harshwardhan Sapkal said that since the Ashadhi Wari falls during this period, millions of Warkaris (devotees) from across the state would be participating in the pilgrimage and would remain away from their homes. Considering this, Sapkal demanded that the SIR exercise be deferred by a month as there was a serious risk that their names might be omitted from the voter lists.

Sapkal further stated: “The Election Commission announced the voter list revision (SIR) programme on May 14, 2026. According to information provided by the Commission, mapping work in Maharashtra has reached approximately 72 per cent. This work will continue until June 19, 2026, and the second phase is understood to be scheduled from June 30 to July 29, 2026. During this phase, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will go door-to-door to distribute and collect enumeration forms from voters.”

He added that Maharashtra has a massive Warkari community and that the Ashadhi Wari coincides with this exact period. Warkaris from more than 20 districts across western Maharashtra, Marathwada and Vidarbha travel to Pandharpur on foot in various dindis (processions). Since they would not be at home, their names could be wrongfully omitted, he claimed.

Furthermore, according to the Meteorological Department’s forecast, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Konkan, Pune and Satara areas are expected to witness heavy rainfall in July, which could disrupt normal life. Taking all these factors into consideration, the letter urged that the SIR programme be postponed by a month, Sapkal said.

Earlier, Chockalingam said that the extensive exercise would involve a physical, door-to-door verification of approximately 9.86 crore electors across Maharashtra under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) campaign from June to October. The exercise is aimed at purifying the electoral database and will be carried out through 1,00,253 Booth Level Officers (BLOs).

He stated that to ensure complete fairness and eliminate biases, political parties had been requested to deploy Booth Level Agents (BLAs) to assist the BLOs.

So far, 1,13,558 BLAs have been appointed across the state by political parties, with the Election Commission of India (ECI) urging parties to maximise appointments ahead of the June launch. Local poll bodies will soon hold joint meetings with recognised political parties to coordinate the massive field exercise.

Responding to the opposition’s demand for transparency in conducting the SIR exercise, Chockalingam said the draft list of proposed deletions would be shared transparently with recognised political parties at the Assembly constituency level.

BLAs appointed by political parties have the legal right to scrutinise these lists, raise objections and challenge any wrongful deletion during the revision period before the final roll is published.

He said that due to ongoing census-related activities currently engaging local field machinery, the ECI had tailored a separate and dedicated schedule for Maharashtra. The entire process will begin next month and conclude before the festival season in October.

The draft electoral rolls will be published on August 5, filing of claims and objections on draft rolls will take place from August 5 to September 4, and disposal of claims and objections will continue until October 3. The final electoral rolls will be published on October 7.

–IANS

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