Rajasthan, UP all set for SIR of electoral rolls from Tuesday
Jaipur (PTI): All preparations are in place for Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Rajasthan, which will begin on October 28, Chief Electoral Officer Naveen Mahajan said on Monday.
The exercise will culminate with the publication of the final electoral roll on February 7, he said.
The Election Commission (EC) on Monday announced that it will conduct phase two of SIR of electoral rolls in 12 states and Union territories -- the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal -- between November and February.
Among these, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, and West Bengal will go to the polls in 2026.
According to the schedule, CEO Mahajan said, training and printing of enumeration forms will take place from October 28 to November 3, followed by door-to-door distribution and collection of forms from November 4 to December 4.
The draft voter list will be published on December 9, and claims and objections will be accepted between December 9 and January 8, 2026, he said.
Hearings and verifications will be held until January 31, and the final electoral roll will be published on February 7, 2026, he added.
Rajasthan currently has 5.48 crore registered voters, whose details will be verified by 52,469 booth-level officers (BLOs) during the revision. Of these, 2.61 crore voters are above the age of 40, with about 77 per cent already mapped. A total of 2.88 crore voters below the age of 40 are being mapped, Mahajan said.
He said detailed instructions have been issued to all divisional commissioners, district election officers and electoral registration officers regarding polling station reorganisation, BLO and observer training, political party coordination, media management and promotion of online submissions.
In Uttar Pradesh, too, preparations for SIR of electoral rolls have been completed, CEO Navdeep Rinwa said in a statement.
"The last Special Intensive Revision in the state was carried out in 2003, and after almost 22 years, it is being conducted again as per the directions of the Election Commission of India," he said.
The exercise will commence in the state on Tuesday with the objective of making the electoral rolls more accurate and inclusive, he said.
Currently, Uttar Pradesh has approximately 15.44 crore voters and 1,62,486 polling stations. There are 75 district election officers, 403 electoral registration officers, 2,042 assistant electoral registration officers, and 1,62,486 BLOs working across the state, the statement said.
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2nd WT20I: Shafali, spin trio do star turns in India''s seven-wicket win
Visakhapatnam (PTI): Shafali Verma hit a blistering unbeaten 69 as India made short work of a paltry target to outclass Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second Women’s T20 International here on Tuesday.
India now lead the five-match series 2-0 after another one-sided victory, having restricted Sri Lanka to a modest 128 for 9 through a collective display of disciplined bowling from the spin trio of seasoned Sneh Rana, ably complemented by young spinners Vaishnavi Sharma and Shree Charani.
During the chase, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana (14) fell cheaply but Shafali, enjoying new found confidence after a stellar show in the World Cup final, sent the bowlers on a leather-hunt during her 34-ball knock, winning it for her team in just 11.5 overs.
The hosts have now completed back-to-back successful chases within 15 overs which speaks volumes about the unit's sky-high confidence.
Shafali's innings had 11 punchy boundaries apart from a maximum.
The floodgates opened when left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera bowled a few flighted deliveries and Shafali would step out everytime to hit her over extra cover. Her footwork against slow bowlers was immaculate whether stepping out to loft the ball or rocking back to punch or pull.
Seeing her confidence, the newly appointed Delhi Capitals skipper Jemimah Rodrigues (26 off 15 balls) also attacked as the duo added 58 runs in just 4.3 overs.
By the time Rodrigues was out trying to hit one six too many, the match as a contest was over. Shafali completed her half-century off just 27 balls and completed the formalities in a jiffy.
Earlier, off-spinner Rana, who got a look-in after Deepti Sharma was ruled out due to fever, showed her utility keeping the Lankan batters under tight leash with figures of 1 for 11 in 4 overs, including a maiden which certainly is a rarity in T20 cricket.
Charani, who made an impression during India's ODI World Cup triumph, took 2 for 23 in her quota of overs, while Vaishnavi after an impressive debut in the opening encounter, finished with 2 for 32, not letting the Islanders get easy runs in her second spell.
The last six wickets fell for just 24 runs, but what stood out during India’s bowling effort was their superb ground fielding. After a patchy show in the previous game, the improved sharpness in the field resulted in three run-outs.
Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu (31 off 24 balls) looked in good nick as she deposited length deliveries from seamers Kranti Gaud and Arundhati Reddy over the ropes but it was Rana, who kept her quiet by repeatedly pitching on good length.
Unable to manoeuvre the strike and with the big hits suddenly drying up, Athapaththu chanced her arm at another delivery in which Rana had shortened the length slightly.
Not having transferred the weight into the lofted shot, Athapaththu's hoick was pouched cleanly by Amanjot Kaur at long-off.
This was after Athapaththu's opening partner Vishmi Gunaratne (1) had offered a simple return catch to Gaud.
Hasini Perera (22 off 28 balls) and Harshitha Samarawickrama (33 off 32 balls) did stitch a stand of 44 but they could never set the tempo against the Indian spin troika.
Once Hasini offered a tame return catch off a Charani full-toss, Sri Lankans never recovered and lost wickets in a heap towards the end.
