As SIR continues in several states, former Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi on Sunday targeted the Election Commission of India (ECI), questioning the exercise’s stated purpose of detecting illegal immigrants while criticising the scale of voter exclusions.
He has listed migration, voters registered at more than one place, names not deleted after death, or a foreign national’s name being included in the voter list as factors leading to the decision. “I would request them to please come out with this figure, so that we know what a great success you have been, and also that you have achieved something that the National Population Commission could not do. You have contributed a lot to population control by eliminating about 15% of India’s population,” he said. The Special Intensive Revision was announced nationwide in October 2025 by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
This is not the first time Quraishi has aimed at the exercise. The drive has drawn sustained opposition criticism. Congress leader Pawan Khera has hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the alleged removal of two crore voters from Maharashtra’s electoral roll under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), asserting that votes are being stolen in the state in real time.
He has previously said the SIR process is “not well-intentioned”, arguing voting is a constitutional right, not a “charity” granted by the Election Commission.
The exercise has since been rolled out across several states and union territories, many of which have headed or are heading into elections. The drive has drawn sustained opposition criticism. The exercise remains a flashpoint between the ruling BJP and opposition parties, particularly in poll-bound states.
Out of 9,78,54,049 electors, a total of 7,71,65,562 electors submitted their forms during the enumeration phase of the SIR as of August 17, according to data released by Maharashtra’s Chief Electoral Officer.
