Rajasthan Leads SIR Survey in India, but BLOs Face Pressure and Challenges

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Rajasthan is making rapid progress in its Special Intensive Revision (SIR) survey, with 98.98% of enumeration forms distributed in just two weeks. This is the highest percentage in the country, with 12 other regions lagging behind. The state's chief electoral officer, Naveen Mahajan, attributes this success to a well-planned strategy and extensive training for Booth Level Officers (BLOs). The Election Commission has been accused of putting undue pressure on BLOs, leading to isolated cases of deaths. However, Mahajan emphasizes that the bigger picture shows a commitment to strengthening democracy. Mahajan revealed that the state began its internal mapping survey before the SIR was officially announced, covering over 70% of voters. This helped BLOs to distribute enumeration forms and upload final outcomes to the ECINET portal. The state has also mobilized over 1.5 lakh people from government machinery to support the SIR exercise. Despite criticism, Mahajan believes that the overall goal of the exercise is to purify the electoral roll and strengthen democracy. Reports have emerged of BLOs being pressured by villagers to work in their fields and households, with some working for over 12 to 18 hours a day. To address this, the state has provided extra help, including up to three assistants for each BLO, as well as ICDS and ASHA workers in rural areas and municipal employees in urban areas. Mahajan has instructed officials to be polite, courteous, and supportive when interacting with voters. He believes that since the team has made significant progress and crossed the halfway mark, further complications are unlikely. The state expects 80-85% of voters to not need to produce documents, with those who are not mapped receiving a notice to provide prescribed documents. The state is also actively reaching out to socially disadvantaged communities, including those without a permanent address, and migrants from neighboring states. BLOs will help them fill in Form-6 along with the EF. The state will consider a Ministry of Home Affairs certificate for Pakistani migrants residing in border areas, recognizing their Indian citizenship. As for people who have migrated to other states or abroad, the state is working to reach out to them through online training and coordination with counterparts in those states. So far, the state has diligently surveyed and removed deceased and duplicate names, with a collective data compilation expected next week to estimate the count.