Process may last 3-4 months, can be extended
*Necessary list of documents being finalised
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Feb 25: Nearly 12,000 officials will be involved in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise to be conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in Jammu and Kashmir, likely from the month of April. Lists of documents are being finalized by the officials as part of preparatory exercise before commencement of the SIR.
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Official sources told the Excelsior that nearly 12,000 officials are being readied for their crucial role in the SIR in Jammu and Kashmir by the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) following the ECI directive that the exercise in 22 States/Union Territories including Jammu and Kashmir is likely to commence in April.
“The set of documents is also being finalized which can be shown during the electoral revision,’’ the sources said, adding the documents are almost similar to the ones used in the States where the exercise has already being completed or is in the stage of completion.
They said the exercise is expected to be completed in around four months but, if necessitated, it can be extended by couple of months.
Necessary directions to the officials to be engaged for the SIR exercise are already being issued by the CEO office through the concerned authorities. However, a final briefing will be held before the exercise is initiated.
The Special Summary Revision (SSR) which is generally taken up every year by the ECI from September to December with publication of final electoral rolls in January was not held in Jammu and Kashmir in 2025 and it will be done through the SSR this year.
The Jammu and Kashmir has around 9 million voters while Ladakh has about two lakh electorates. J&K has five Lok Sabha seats and 90-member Assembly while Ladakh has only one Lok Sabha seat and is the UT without Legislature.
The SIR is also expected to be conducted in Ladakh as the weather will by then open up in the entire Union Territory and conditions will be conducive for undertaking such an exercise, the sources said.
The SIR exercise is crucial in Jammu and Kashmir due to possible inclusions of some Bangladeshis, Pakistanis or Myanmarese in the electoral rolls earlier.
Elections to the Panchayats, Municipalities, Block Development Councils (BDCs) and District Development Councils (DDCs) are due in Jammu and Kashmir but there appears to be no indications that they will be held immediately. While Panchayats and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) polls are due since October-November 2023, term of the DDCs expired yesterday.
There have been reports that besides Bihar, West Bengal, Assam and some other States; the illegal immigrants have also been a major threat in Jammu and Kashmir especially the Rohingyas and Bangladeshis. Reports indicated that some of them have managed to get voter cards and other documents like Aadhaar card etc through manipulation.
“A number of them might have been enrolled as voters,” they said.
In 2021, the State Election Commission had to cancel election to two District Development Council (DDC) seats including Drugmulla in Kupwara and Hajin A in Bandipora district of the Kashmir valley as it was established after elections that the winner women belonged to Pakistan occupied Jammu Kashmir (PoJK) and had managed to enroll them as voters in the UT. A re-election was later held on both seats.
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