Punjab SIR 2025: Electoral officer urges parties to appoint booth agents fast
Synopsis
Punjab's Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls — the first since 2003 — is now in motion, with Chief Electoral Officer Anindita Mitra pressing parties to appoint booth-level agents immediately. With 24,453 ground officers set for door-to-door visits between June 25 and July 24, the scale of the exercise signals a serious push to clean up and expand Punjab's voter rolls ahead of future elections.
Key Takeaways
Chief Electoral Officer Anindita Mitra met political party representatives in Chandigarh on 15 May 2025 to push for urgent appointment of booth-level agents.
The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Punjab's electoral rolls is the first such exercise since 2003 .
24,453 booth-level officers , 2,476 supervisors , 117 EROs , and 234 AEROs have been deployed for the exercise.
Door-to-door visits to help fill voter forms are scheduled from 25 June to 24 July ; training runs from 15 to 24 June .
Rural mapping is 89.58% complete ; urban mapping stands at 73% .
Holding duplicate votes is a constitutional offence punishable by up to one year's imprisonment .
Chief Electoral Officer Anindita Mitra on Friday, 15 May convened a meeting in Chandigarh with representatives of registered and recognised political parties across Punjab, pressing them to urgently appoint booth-level agents ahead of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls — a process initiated by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Why Booth-Level Agents Are Central to the SIR
Mitra underscored that booth-level agents would serve as the linchpin of the entire revision exercise. Their timely appointment, she said, would allow joint training alongside booth-level officers and enable continuous information-sharing at every stage — the two pillars the office considers essential for maintaining transparency. She specifically called on parties to accelerate appointments for the booth-level agent-I category without further delay.
The Scale of the Electoral Machinery Deployed
The SIR exercise in Punjab involves a formidable ground apparatus: 24,453 booth-level officers, 2,476 supervisors, 117 Electoral Registration Officers, and 234 Assistant Electoral Registration Officers. Training for this workforce and other preparatory work is scheduled from 15 June to 24 June, followed by door-to-door visits by booth-level officers from 25 June to 24 July to assist eligible citizens in filling voter registration forms.
Mapping Progress and the 2003 Precedent
Mitra noted that 89.58 per cent of mapping has already been completed in rural areas of the state, while urban coverage stands at 73 per cent. Notably, a Special Intensive Revision was last conducted in Punjab in 2003, and the current exercise draws on that revision as its baseline — making this the first such comprehensive effort in over two decades.
Voter Rights, Duties, and Legal Obligations
Political party representatives were also briefed on citizens' right to vote. The Chief Electoral Officer reminded attendees that holding duplicate votes is an offence under the Constitution and carries a punishment of up to one year's imprisonment. The stated objective of the SIR is to ensure every eligible citizen is included in the electoral rolls while ineligible names are removed. The office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Mitra assured, will remain in continuous coordination with all recognised parties throughout the process.
Point of View
The transparency architecture of the SIR collapses into a bureaucratic exercise. The gap between rural (89.58%) and urban (73%) mapping completion also warrants scrutiny — urban voter rolls in Punjab have historically been more prone to duplication and ghost entries, precisely the problem the SIR is designed to fix. The tight training window (just nine days, 15–24 June) before field work begins leaves little room for error.
NationPress
31 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Punjab?
The Special Intensive Revision is an Election Commission of India-mandated exercise to comprehensively update Punjab's voter rolls — adding eligible citizens and removing ineligible entries. It is the first such exercise in Punjab since 2003 and involves door-to-door visits by booth-level officers from 25 June to 24 July 2025.
Why is the appointment of booth-level agents urgent?
Chief Electoral Officer Anindita Mitra has stressed that booth-level agents must be appointed immediately so they can be trained alongside booth-level officers before field work begins on 25 June. Without them, the information-sharing and transparency mechanisms of the SIR cannot function effectively.
How many officials are deployed for Punjab's SIR exercise?
The exercise deploys 24,453 booth-level officers, 2,476 supervisors, 117 Electoral Registration Officers, and 234 Assistant Electoral Registration Officers across Punjab.
What is the timeline for the SIR door-to-door visits?
Training and preparatory work runs from 15 to 24 June 2025. Booth-level officers will then conduct door-to-door visits from 25 June to 24 July 2025 to help citizens fill voter registration forms.
What are the legal consequences of holding duplicate votes in India?
Holding duplicate votes is an offence under the Constitution of India and is punishable by up to one year's imprisonment, as reiterated by Chief Electoral Officer Anindita Mitra at the 15 May meeting.
