Ranchi, September 11, 2026: The Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee has urged the Election Commission to extend the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls by one month, citing the large number of pending notices, hearings and applications related to voter registration.
The party submitted a memorandum to Additional Election Officer Subodh Kumar on Friday in the absence of Chief Electoral Officer K Ravi Kumar.
The memorandum was submitted by state Congress president Keshav Mahato Kamlesh, vice-president Dr Rajesh Gupta, Satish Pal Munjani, general secretaries Lalkishore Nath Shahdeo and Suryakant Shukla, and Sanjay Kumar.
Congress cites low number of completed hearings
The Congress said the number of hearings completed so far is considerably lower than the number of notices that were required to be issued after publication of the draft electoral roll.
The party cited Dhanbad district as an example, stating that notices were required to be issued in 4,45,901 cases, while the latest figures available to the party showed that hearings had been completed in only 36,381 cases.
In view of the situation, the Congress requested that the period for filing claims and objections and completing hearings be extended by at least one month.
Party seeks fresh reading of draft rolls
The Congress also thanked the Election Commission for allowing draft electoral rolls to be read out in Gram Sabhas on August 15 following the party’s request.
The party sought a repeat of the exercise so that citizens can identify and raise objections against any omissions or errors in the ASDDO list, as referred to in its memorandum.
Congress leaders also raised concerns about voters receiving notices being made to wait in queues throughout the day and then being asked to return the following day without their hearing being completed.
They requested that officials call only as many people on a given day as can realistically be heard on that day.
Congress seeks transparency on Form 7 objections
The party further demanded that the Election Commission publish details of the Form 7 applications received, including a clear break-up of how many objections were submitted by each political party.
Congress leaders argued that such information should be made available to the public to improve transparency in the electoral roll revision process.
Party flags low number of applications from young voters
The Congress also raised concerns about the registration of young voters.
According to the party, around 4.39 lakh applications have so far been received for adding names of people who have already turned 18 or will attain the age of 18 by October 1, 2026.
The party said the number should be estimated at more than 20 lakh and stressed that the deadline for submitting Form 6 should be extended to ensure that no eligible young person is denied the opportunity to enrol as a voter.
Hearing sought before removal of voter names
The Congress also demanded that before any decision is taken on applications received under Form 7, both the applicant and the person whose name is proposed for deletion should be called individually and given an opportunity to present their respective sides.
The party said such a process would help ensure that claims and objections are properly examined before changes are made to the electoral rolls.
