DEFENDING the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the State, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday described the exercise as the natural next phase of a long-standing democratic process aimed at safeguarding electoral integrity. Addressing concerns and Opposition’s pushback regarding voter list updates, the Chief Minister emphasised that intensive revisions are far from unprecedented. Instead, they constitute an essential mechanism that the Election Commission of India (ECI) has periodically deployed across decades to uphold the sanctity of the principle: “One Citizen, One Vote.”

 

CM Fadnavis chose to argue his case through his post on X, a day after Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray-led staged ‘Garjana Morcha’, demanding the scrapping of SIR in Maharashtra and holding elections on the ballot paper. Highlighting the long timeline of electoral roll maintenance in postIndependence India, CM Fadnavis outlined key phases where indepth nationwide revisions were undertaken to ensure accuracy. “During 1952-1956: The first major intensive revision conducted by the Election Commission across most parts of the country following India’s early general elections. Successive nationwide revisions executed to ensure nascent electoral rolls reflected growing populations and demographic shifts in 1957, 1961, 1965 & 1966.