Meghalaya Chief Electoral Officer BDR Tiwari on Tuesday, 12 May said the state Election Department is fully prepared to conduct the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and is awaiting the official schedule from the Election Commission of India (ECI). Tiwari made the announcement while speaking to reporters in Shillong, adding that the process would commence as soon as the Commission releases the schedule.

What the Revision Entails

The Special Intensive Revision is a nationwide exercise aimed at cleaning up electoral rolls — removing duplicate entries, deleting non-genuine voters, and ensuring accurate voter registration. Phase III of the exercise is expected to cover the remaining 22 states and Union Territories, including Meghalaya, and is projected to involve nearly 40 crore electors across the country who were not covered in earlier phases.

"The department is ready to conduct the Special Intensive Revision in Meghalaya. We are awaiting the schedule from the Election Commission, and the process will start as and when the schedule is announced," Tiwari said.

Why Meghalaya Faces Heightened Scrutiny

The revision exercise carries particular significance for Meghalaya, which shares a long and porous international border with Bangladesh. Over the years, concerns have been raised about illegal immigration, duplicate voter entries, and the inclusion of non-genuine voters in electoral rolls. Several tribal organisations and political parties have repeatedly demanded stricter scrutiny of voter lists in the state.

Tiwari assured that the exercise would be conducted transparently and in strict compliance with all guidelines issued by the Election Commission.

Delay Due to Recent Assembly Elections

The rollout of the revision exercise in Meghalaya and several other states had reportedly been deferred due to the recently concluded Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Puducherry. With those polls now concluded, Phase III is expected to be launched in the coming days.

Shillong Parliamentary Bypoll on the Horizon

Separately, Tiwari confirmed that the state Election Department is also prepared to conduct the Shillong Parliamentary constituency by-election, which has been necessitated by the demise of sitting Member of Parliament Ricky AJ Syngkon a couple of months ago. As per constitutional provisions, the bypoll must be held within six months of the date of the vacancy.

"All necessary preparations are in place for the smooth conduct of the election once directions are received from the Election Commission," Tiwari said. The Commission's announcement of the poll schedule is now awaited, and the conduct of both exercises will test the state machinery's readiness on two fronts simultaneously.