ECI issues directive to ease voter enrolment for sex workers, marginalised groups during SIR
The Statesman | 2 January 2026
In a significant move to prevent the exclusion of vulnerable voters during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has issued a fresh directive to facilitate the inclusion of sex workers and other marginalised groups who are unable to produce legacy documents dating back to 2002.
In an order dated 31 December, the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, instructed all District Election Officers (DEOs) to adopt special measures during the hearing process under SIR 2026, covering sex workers, particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), ashram inmates and similarly placed persons.
The directive follows a video conference held on December 30 by Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Gyanesh Bharti, reiterating the Commission’s stated objective that “no eligible citizen is left out while no ineligible person is included in the electoral roll”.
As part of the exercise, DEOs have been empowered to conduct personal visits and public enquiries in areas such as red-light zones, old-age homes, habitations, and institutions where eligible voters are unable to produce documentary proof linking them to the 2002 electoral roll.
In cases where eligible applicants are unable to produce documentary proof linking them to the 2002 electoral roll—the last Special Intensive Revision—owing to valid, practical, or unavoidable reasons, the District Election Officer (DEO) will conduct personal visits to the concerned area, hamlet, habitation, or institution.
The DEO will hold a public hearing or enquiry, record statements, and other relevant evidence, and prepare formal proceedings supported by videography, along with a verified list of eligible persons identified during the exercise.
Booth Level Agents (BLAs) of the concerned area or polling station will also be consulted during the enquiry, and their views, objections, or confirmations, as applicable, will be formally recorded.
Based on this process, a consolidated and verified list of eligible applicants will be prepared and forwarded to the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs), who will give due evidentiary weight to the proceedings while adjudicating and disposing of the relevant enumeration forms in accordance with law.
It should be mentioned that the CEO office conducted special assistance camps in three wards of Kolkata, including Sonagachi, Asia’s largest sex workers’ hub, after complaints that many residents were unable to trace two-decade-old documents required under SIR norms.
Commission officials heard grievances on the spot, with State CEO Manoj Agarwal supervising the camps personally.
Agarwal had also directed DEOs to hold similar camps, wherever required, in old-age homes, red-light areas, widow centres and clusters for persons with disabilities, stressing that the exercise is aimed at ensuring that no legitimate voter is deleted from the rolls.
Election officials said the latest ECI directive provides a formal framework to legally back the special camps and field-level interventions, particularly for communities historically left out of the documentation net, as the revision process enters its final phase.