Early Times Report
Jammu, Mar 13: The upcoming Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Jammu and Kashmir is expected to pose a significant administrative challenge for the election authorities due to the presence of thousands of migrant voters originally registered in constituencies of the Kashmir Valley but currently residing in different parts of the country.
Unlike many other states and Union Territories where the SIR exercise will be conducted largely among voters residing within their respective regions, Jammu and Kashmir faces a unique situation owing to the large number of Kashmiri migrant voters.
Many of these voters, primarily from the Kashmiri Pandit community, continue to remain enrolled in electoral rolls of various Assembly and Parliamentary constituencies in the Valley despite living outside the Union Territory for decades.
According to official figures from the 2024 Assembly elections, more than 1.13 lakh registered Kashmiri Pandit migrant voters were eligible to exercise their franchise.
Facilitating their participation in the fresh revision process is likely to require extensive coordination between election authorities in Jammu and Kashmir and several other states where these migrants are presently settled.
As reported earlier, the Election Commission of India has written to the Chief Electoral Officers of 17 states and five Union Territories, including Jammu and Kashmir, directing them to complete all preparatory work related to the Special Intensive Revision at the earliest.
The communication issued by the Commission states that the exercise is expected to commence in April 2026, and that all logistical and administrative arrangements should be put in place well in advance.
The SIR process was first initiated in Bihar last year. Beginning April 2026, the revision exercise will also be conducted in several states and Union Territories, including Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Delhi, Odisha, Punjab, Sikkim, Tripura, Telangana and Uttarakhand, besides Union Territories such as Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu and Ladakh.
Under the Special Intensive Revision, all registered electors will be required to fill out fresh enumeration forms to reconfirm their eligibility. As part of the process, voters will have to trace their names—or those of their parents or close relatives—to an electoral roll prepared during the last intensive revision conducted nearly two decades ago.
Those unable to establish such linkage will be required to furnish documentary proof to verify their citizenship and eligibility for inclusion in the electoral roll.
Election officials say that ensuring participation of migrant voters from Jammu and Kashmir in this verification process will require special outreach measures and coordination with election authorities in other states where these voters currently reside. |
