The ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Maharashtra has been extended by 10 days by the Election Commission of India after slower-than-expected progress was recorded across the state. The enumeration exercise, which had originally been scheduled to conclude on July 29, will now be completed by August 8.
A revised timetable has also been issued for the remaining stages of the electoral roll revision process. The draft electoral rolls will now be published on August 17 instead of August 5. A one-month period will then be provided for voters to submit claims and objections. These applications will be accepted between August 17 and September 16.
All claims and objections are expected to be examined, heard and disposed of by October 15. The final electoral rolls are scheduled to be published on October 19 after the verification and correction process has been completed.
The extension was requested by the Maharashtra election authorities after field-level work was affected by heavy rainfall during the first week of July. It was stated by Maharashtra Joint Chief Electoral Officer Manohar Parkar that similar additional time had been granted to other states. Confidence was expressed that the revision process would be completed within the extended deadline. It was also clarified that satisfactory progress had been recorded in several parts of Maharashtra. However, a slower pace was reported in major urban centres, particularly Mumbai and Thane. Special concern has been raised over the limited progress achieved in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.
According to data released by the Election Commission, only 35.16 per cent of Maharashtra’s electorate has been covered under the enumeration process so far. Much lower completion rates have been reported in Mumbai Suburban, Mumbai City and Thane. Enumeration of only 8.38 per cent of voters has been completed in Mumbai Suburban, while 8.41 per cent has been recorded in Thane. In Mumbai City, the exercise has reached 15.36 per cent.
The delays have been attributed to a combination of weather-related, administrative and demographic factors. Electoral records have reportedly been found missing in several cases, while voter verification has been complicated by migration and frequent residential changes. In areas undergoing redevelopment, addresses have been changed or temporarily shifted, making voters more difficult to trace. Additional checks have also been required in cases where voters have access to multiple residences. Verification has consequently been slowed because the correct place of ordinary residence has had to be established.
A heavy workload has also been placed on booth-level officers responsible for carrying out the enumeration. Many of these officers are teachers, and electoral responsibilities have been handled alongside their regular duties. Door-to-door verification, document collection and the updating of voter details have therefore progressed at a slower pace in densely populated areas. With the revised deadline now in place, additional time will be available for eligible voters to be identified and for electoral information to be verified. Greater focus is expected to be placed on Mumbai, Thane and other low-performing areas so that the draft rolls can be prepared before their scheduled publication on August 17.
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