"SIR should not be used as political weapon, misused in any manner": Congress' Sofia Firdous

Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], February 21 (ANI): Congress MLA Sofia Firdous on Friday said the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls should be conducted as a routine exercise and must not be "used as a political weapon."
Speaking to ANI on the issue, Firdous said, "SIR should be a normal exercise. It should not be used as a political weapon and misused in any manner."
The Congress leader underlined the importance of adequate training for Booth Level Officers (BLOs) to ensure the smooth implementation of the exercise.
"We will expect that, first of all, proper training of all BLOs has to be done. Proper awareness has to be spread amongst all the people and all the voters also, so that they can go and understand if their name is there in the list, what documentation is needed," she said.
Firdous further stressed that transparency in the process is crucial to maintain public trust.
"It should be done in a fully transparent manner, which is something we all expect," she added.
She also assured cooperation from her party, stating, "We will also cooperate, and we will expect that the SIR will be carried out with utmost transparency."
Meanwhile, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday directed Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of 22 States and Union Territories to complete preparatory work for the second phase of the upcoming Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which is expected to begin in April 2026.
The letter has been addressed to Chief Electoral Officers of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Ladakh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, the NCT of Delhi, Odisha, Punjab, Sikkim, Tripura, Telangana, and Uttarakhand.
The ECI has requested that all preparatory activities related to the revision exercise be completed at the earliest to ensure a smooth rollout of the process from April 2026.
Currently, a nationwide SIR is being carried out in 12 states and union territories. These states and UTs are: Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
Earlier, ECI announced the schedule for the upcoming biennial elections to the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) to fill the 37 seats across 10 states, as the members are set to complete their term in April 2026, a press note stated.
According to the press note, the term of 37 members who were elected from Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Telangana will conclude in the month of April, vacating the seats for new members to be elected.
The notification will be issued on February 26, commencing the election process. The last date of nominations is March 5, followed by scrutiny on March 6. The candidates can withdraw their nominations till March 9.
The polling is scheduled to take place on March 16, with the counting of votes on the same day at 5 pm. The election process will be completed by March 20.
The ECI has instructed that only integrated violet colour sketch pens must be used for marking the preferences on the ballot paper. (ANI)