Congress asks EC to postpone Maharashtra SIR exercise amid Ashadhi pilgrimage

Mumbai: The Opposition Congress on Wednesday appealed to the Election Commission to postpone the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Maharashtra by a month, citing the 'Ashadhi Wari' pilgrimage and the possibility of heavy monsoon rains during the exercise.

In a letter to Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officer S Chockalingam, state Congress president Harshvardhan Sapkal said lakhs of warkaris (devotees of Lord Vitthal) participating in the annual wari pilgrimage to Pandharpur (for Ashadhi Ekadashi celebration) may remain away from their homes during the revision exercise, increasing the risk of their names being deleted from the voters' list.

According to the letter, the Election Commission announced the SIR programme on May 14 and nearly 72 per cent of the mapping work in Maharashtra has already been completed. The first phase of the exercise is underway till June 19, while the second phase is scheduled from June 30 to July 29.


Sapkal said Booth Level Officers (BLOs) would visit households during the second phase to distribute and collect enumeration forms from voters.

The 'Ashadhi Wari' takes place during the same period and lakhs of devotees from more than 20 districts in western Maharashtra, Marathwada and Vidarbha travel on foot to Pandharpur, he noted.

"As these devotees will not be at home during the exercise, there is a possibility that their names may be excluded from the electoral rolls," the Congress leader said.

Sapkal also referred to weather forecasts every year of heavy rainfall in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Konkan, Pune and Satara regions during July, saying the conditions could disrupt normal life and affect the revision process.

He urged the Election Commission to defer the SIR programme by at least a month to ensure no eligible voter is left out of the electoral rolls.

The next Lok Sabha polls and Maharashtra assembly elections are due in 2029.