The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has formally approached the Election Commission (EC) and Punjab’s Chief Electoral Officer, raising serious concerns over alleged irregularities in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists in Punjab. With the state assembly elections scheduled for early next year, BJP Punjab President Kewal Singh Dhillon submitted an urgent memorandum alleging that the ruling Bhagwant Man-led AAP government is using the electoral revision process as a front to collect data and promote its government schemes.
The BJP has accused several booth-level officers (BLOs) and election officials of overstepping their mandate by gathering non-essential data from voters and encouraging them to sign up for various state government welfare schemes. Additionally, the party highlighted that BLOs in several areas are harassing tenant voters by demanding unauthorized documents—such as registered rent deeds or landlord affidavits—which are not mandated under the Election Commission’s guidelines, making the voter registration process unnecessarily complicated for common citizens.
Demanding swift corrective action, BJP State President Kewal Singh Dhillon emphasized that this matter directly impacts public interest and the credibility of the democratic process. The party has urged the Election Commission to launch an immediate inquiry against errant officials, issue strict guidelines to all District Election Officers (DEOs) prohibiting the demand for unauthorized documents, and ensure that the Special Intensive Revision is conducted in a completely fair, transparent, and voter-friendly manner.
