ECI's Special Intensive Review sparks governance crisis amid opposition allegations of partisanship

Hindustan Times - India · 29 Sept 2026 · 2 min read
Prelims · Polity Mains · GS2 Governance High relevance

The Election Commission's use of Article 324 powers for nationwide Special Intensive Review (SIR) of electoral rolls, deleting 13 crore voters, has triggered a constitutional crisis with opposition alleging institutional bias and procedural irregularities.

Key points

Article 324 was invoked by ECI for the SIR exercise, marking rare use of its residual powers typically reserved for extraordinary electoral circumstances like campaign bans or election postponements.

The SIR process deleted approximately 13 crore voters (equivalent to France+UK populations), raising concerns about its proportionality and adherence to the Representation of People Act's mandate for constituency-level revisions.

GS2-Polity: This connects to constitutional bodies' independence as BJP CMs' unprecedented collective defense of CEC blurs institutional-party boundaries, violating the Model Code's spirit.

ECI introduced automated deletions via ECINET software, bypassing Electoral Registration Officers' statutory authority under Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, creating procedural irregularities.

West Bengal saw 20% voter purge using 'logical discrepancy' criteria, with automated Form 7 notices issued without ERO scrutiny, violating due process principles.

GS3-Technology: The automation of voter verification without human oversight raises questions about algorithmic transparency and accountability in governance systems.

ECI modified Form 6 to link voter inclusion with SIR data, effectively disenfranchising those not in previous rolls until public pressure forced reversion to old forms.

The process lacked stakeholder consultation with political parties, violating ECI's own 2019 advisory mandating pre-revision consultations with recognized parties.

Way Forward: ECI must establish clear guidelines for Article 324 invocation, mandate multi-party oversight for mass revisions, restore EROs' statutory authority, and implement transparent audit mechanisms for automated voter list management.

Key terms

Article 324

Constitutional provision vesting superintendence, direction and control of elections in the Election Commission. Its residual powers allow extraordinary measures but are subject to judicial review (T.N. Seshan case). UPSC relevance lies in debates about balancing EC autonomy with accountability.

Special Intensive Review (SIR)

Exceptional electoral roll revision beyond annual summary revisions, permitted under Section 21 of RP Act 1951 for specific constituencies. This nationwide application tests legal boundaries and impacts federalism (State EC coordination).

Electoral Registration Officer (ERO)

Statutory authority under Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 responsible for voter list integrity. Their sidelining in SIR undermines decentralized accountability mechanisms crucial for electoral credibility.

Model Code of Conduct

ECI's ethical framework for electoral conduct. BJP CMs' coordinated defense of CEC violates its spirit of keeping constitutional offices above partisan politics, raising institutional integrity questions.