New Delhi, Feb 14 (.) M A Baby, General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), has petitioned the Election Commission of India (ECI) to immediately abandon the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging that the process is “chaotic, arbitrary and exclusionary” and poses a threat to the fundamental right to vote.
In a detailed representation addressed to the Chief Election Commissioner, Baby said that while periodic revision of electoral rolls is “a routine and essential democratic exercise,” the current SIR departs “sharply from established law, past practice and constitutional principles.”
“Far from being a routine, transparent and citizen-friendly process, the present SIR has turned into a chaotic, arbitrary and exclusionary exercise that threatens both the integrity of the electoral rolls and the fundamental right to vote,” the petition stated.
The CPI(M) leader criticised the timing of the exercise, noting that undertaking an extensive revision just months before elections within a compressed timeframe risked “large-scale errors and exclusions.”
The petition also raised serious concerns about distress linked to the process. It claimed that in several instances, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) had succumbed to pressure, with reports of suicides. It further alleged that voters, particularly in West Bengal, had taken their own lives amid fears of deletion from electoral rolls.
Describing the situation as alarming, the party said, “Large sections of the population are going through nightmares.”
Baby said recognised political parties were not taken into confidence before the launch of the SIR.
“Recognised political parties, who are equal stakeholders in the democratic process, were not consulted prior to this exercise,” the petition said, calling the omission a violation of established democratic practice.
The CPI(M) also objected to what it described as a shift in burden onto voters. Under normal procedure, it argued, identifying and deleting ineligible voters is the responsibility of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and Electoral Registration Officers (EROs). Requiring already-enrolled voters to re-establish eligibility under threat of deletion was termed “arbitrary” and “contrary to settled procedure.”
The petition detailed alleged irregularities in several states:
Assam: The CPI(M) claimed widespread misuse of Form 7, with individuals allegedly filing hundreds of third-party objections using misappropriated Election Photo Identity Card (EPIC) details. It cited reports of harassment of Bengali-speaking Muslim voters and political pressure on BLOs in districts such as Sribhumi (Karimganj).
Kerala: The party alleged that voters erroneously deleted were being compelled to reapply through Form 6, rendering old EPICs invalid. It also raised concerns about errors in pre-2002 voter lists being used to question later registrations and cited “abnormally high volumes” of Forms 6, 6A and 8.
Tamil Nadu: According to the petition, over 97 lakh voters were removed from the base list, with disproportionately high numbers marked as “dead” or “not traceable.” It alleged that married women, tenants and displaced persons were among those most affected.
West Bengal: The CPI(M) described the SIR in the state as “one of the most controversial,” alleging that an untested software system was generating mass notices over “logical discrepancies.” It further claimed that nearly 1.5 crore electors were being subjected to quasi-judicial scrutiny within “impossibly short timelines,” and objected to the appointment of micro-observers parallel to regular ECI channels.
The party said that similar patterns observed earlier in Bihar — where it claimed the voter-to-population ratio declined — risked being replicated elsewhere.
In its petition, the CPI(M) expressed apprehension that the SIR resembled elements of the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise, warning of “selective disenfranchisement of certain communities.”
It argued that while citizenship is a prerequisite for voter enrolment, determining citizenship does not fall within the ECI’s jurisdiction. “Under the guise of the SIR what is becoming apparent is the initiation of the process to determine citizenship,” the petition said.
Citing provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, the party contended that an intensive revision should proceed on a “blank roll” with systematic additions, rather than focus primarily on deletions.
The petition also objected to elderly and disabled voters being summoned to distant centres for hearings, despite recent measures enabling vote-from-home facilities for such categories.
Baby further urged the Commission to reconsider the exercise in its entirety.
“The right to vote is the bedrock of our democracy. Any process that threatens its universal and equal exercise must be halted and reconsidered with utmost seriousness,” the petition stated, calling on the Election Commission to “abandon this exercise which is turning into a war against the people.” . SKA .