Check your name on voter list before final roll, says Bidri

A review meeting on the Special Intensive Revision programme-2026 (SIR), being conducted in Maharashtra on the directions of the Election Commission of India, was held at the Gondia district collector's office. The meeting, chaired by voter list observer and Nagpur division divisional commissioner Vijayalaxmi Bidri, reviewed the process of settling claims and objections received on the draft voter list.

Bidri said the draft voter list has been released and all citizens should check their name, address and other details before the final list is published. The district collector and district election officer Mandar Patki, deputy district election officer Vijay Awadhane, sub-divisional officers, assistant election officers and representatives of various political parties were present. Bidri gave clear instructions to officials to ensure that no eligible citizen is left out of the voter list.

The divisional commissioner also took stock of the process for claims, objections and correction applications received for the voter list. She said voters must check their name, address, age and other details. Anyone who needs to enrol, correct their name or address, or make any other necessary change must apply on the prescribed form.

Voters whose names have errors or could not be mapped have been asked to contact their respective BLO or BLA after receiving a notice. Such voters will have to attend the hearing with the necessary documents to resolve the matter. Bidri also directed that full care be taken to ensure no eligible citizen is deprived of a place on the voter list.

Draft voter lists have been put up at the district collector's office, sub-divisional offices, tehsil offices, polling stations and offices of local self-government bodies. The divisional commissioner also said draft voter lists should be made available to political parties. Instructions were given to set up special camps to help persons with disabilities and senior citizens check their names, as well as to give residents of remote areas such as bastis, tandas and padas the facility to check the voter list.

Anyone whose name is not on the voter list, or who will turn 18 on October 1, 2026, must fill Form 6. Anyone objecting to the removal of a voter's name must fill Form 7, while anyone seeking correction of name, age or address, or where members of the same family are enrolled at different polling stations, must fill Form 8. The last date for submitting these applications is September 30, 2026.

It was also clarified that the draft voter list is not final. In the first phase of the SIR, emphasis was placed on verifying whether voters generally reside at the address they had given. This is why the names of people not actually living at their stated address were not included in the draft list. In the current phase, such voters have been given the opportunity to apply for enrolment in the voter list of the place where they currently reside. Along with this, the names of deceased voters have been removed, new eligible voters are being registered, and eligible citizens whose names could not be included in the first phase for any reason are being given a chance to be enrolled as voters.

The current phase of the SIR is focused on registering new eligible voters and making necessary corrections to the voter list. It would therefore not be right to draw any conclusion by comparing the newly released draft voter list with old figures. It was appealed that a proper assessment should be made only after the final voter list is officially released. The final voter list will be released on November 4, 2026, and the administration is taking the necessary steps throughout this process to ensure that all eligible citizens are included.