PANJIM: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday pushed back against intense opposition pressure, asserting that 81 of the 97 eligible voters left out of Goa’s final electoral roll have now submitted Form 6 for re-inclusion. Following a high-level meeting of top poll chiefs to review the controversial Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, the ECI claimed that Booth Level Officers (BLOs) conducted house-to-house visits to rectify the lapses. The top-tier defence comes amidst growing political demands for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, while locally, a legal battle has reached the High Court over the sweeping deletion of long-time Goan voters.
The full commission meeting, attended by CEC Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, was held amid opposition demands calling for the removal of the CEC following a report in a national daily over the implementation of the SIR exercise. Under fire over mounting problems during the review, the ECI asserted that all SIR orders were issued after approval from all three commissioners and noted that the format of Form 6 has been upheld by the Supreme Court.
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According to the poll panel, the 97 eligible voters whose names did not appear in Goa’s final electoral roll published in February 2026 were subsequently approached by BLOs. Officials assisted them in completing Form 6 through house-to-house visits. Many of these voters have already been included/added in the electoral roll, while the cases of the 81 voters are under process.
The ECI reiterated that no eligible voter will be left out of the electoral roll.
The ECI has also announced a new procedure for voters who receive notices during the ongoing SIR because they have been classified as “unmapped” or have “logical discrepancies” in their electoral records.
Under the new arrangement, BLOs will visit the homes of such voters, collect the required documents and upload them on the ECI’s unified ECINet portal. The documents will then be placed before the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) for a decision.
Such voters will not ordinarily be required to appear personally before the ERO or Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO). Hearings will be held only in exceptional circumstances, as determined by the ERO, and will be preferably conducted online.
The ECI also said that an elector may authorise an adult member of their family to attend a hearing on their behalf, if required. Facilities for online hearings are also being strengthened.
The Election Commission said it would introduce several measures to make the SIR process more accessible, including: house-to-house visits by BLOs to assist voters and collect documents; Help desks and special camps for vulnerable groups, including people living in night shelters, labourers, poor people and homeless persons; further upgrades to the ECINet portal based on feedback received from State Chief Electoral Officers and additional flexibility for field officials wherever required.
The ECI said that the deadline for filing claims and objections in Delhi has been extended to October 30, following a request from the Delhi CEO. The deadline for disposal of notices, claims and objections has consequently been extended to November 30.
In Maharashtra, the deadline for filing claims and objections has been extended to October 12, while the deadline for disposal has been extended to November 10, following a request from the State CEO.
The ECI said that in the 20 States and Union Territories where SIR has already been completed, including Bihar and West Bengal, anyone whose name was left out during or after the revision can apply afresh for inclusion in the electoral roll through the normal process of continuous updating.
This facility is also available to young and first-time voters who have become eligible for enrolment.
The Commission has directed the respective State CEOs to facilitate such applications and immediately launch special enrolment drives to ensure that eligible voters are included in the electoral rolls.
Former State Election Commissioner Prof Prabhakar Timble said, “The amended Form 6 with required annexures was unlawful. The ECI is unnecessarily increasing the difficulty level to register as a voter. The government is talking of Ease of Doing Business and the ECI is making registration process cumbersome. The mission of the ECI was to ensure that nobody is left out from electoral rolls and if anybody is left out then the ECI would consider it as its failure. CEC Gyanesh Kumar with the blessing of Modi government has changed this mission and to excluding citizens from voting. The CEC is giving an impression that he is cleaning electoral rolls from infiltrators and foreign nationals but Kumar is playing havoc with citizens, voters, democracy and Constitution of India.”
