However, Mrs. Anindita Mitra, Chief Electoral Officer(CEO), Punjab, in a meeting with political parties’ representatives cleared that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Punjab will be carried out in a completely transparent manner and the primary objective of the exercise is to ensure inclusion of every eligible citizen in the electoral rolls while removing ineligible persons from the list, but despite this assurance, why the political parties of state are smelling some fearing particles in the air yet to blow?

Ferry Sofat, Aam Aadmi Party representative, says, "First of all, except for one party, we were concerned about the problems that had been created in the whole country with the S.I.R, which every party had to face. West Bengal is the major example where 90 lakh votes were cut and 27-28 lakh people were not able to vote despite their genuine right.''

After meeting with CEO, Dr. Amar Singh, the Congress representative, said, “We have raised those issues of SIR, which have created fear among people. As done in Bihar and West Bengal, those should not be done in Punjab. At least spare Punjab.”

Harpal Singh Cheema, AAP leader and Finance Minister of Punjab, in a tweet on 14th May @AAPPunjab commented, “The people of Punjab will not accept BJP's SIR! Continuing to misuse the Election Commission, it wants to find a way to gain power by cutting votes from Punjab through SIR. The people of Punjab are aware of these tricks of BJP and 3 crore Punjabis will strongly oppose this unprincipled action of BJP.”

Cabinet Minister, Punjab, Dr. Balbir Singh commented on May14, @AAPPunjab, “In West Bengal, BJP has formed the government by siphoning off 9.1 million votes and creating nearly 600,000 fake votes. This BJP policy is a major challenge for Punjab. All of us will have to come together and stand guard at every single booth so that BJP cannot play this dirty game in Punjab.”

Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, in a statement to media on May 14, questioned the timing of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Punjab when the state was headed for the assembly elections less than ten months from now. Reacting to the announcement by the Election Commission of India on the matter, Warring said, Punjab could have waited till the elections to assure the people that there was no hidden agenda behind the SIR in the state.

“Bihar and West Bengal elections have proved it beyond any doubt that the Bharatiya Janata Party government at the centre with the help of a compliant Election Commission of India can swing the electoral outcome in its favour with the fraudulent exercise of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls”, he observed while noting that Punjab is headed for elections, within less than ten months, may be earlier. “What is the urgency to hold this exercise here?” he asked.

The PCC president asked why the SIR exercise was not carried out in Punjab along with the states like Uttar Pradesh and Goa, where it was held six months ago, as these two states are also scheduled to go for elections at the same time as Punjab.

He pointed out, in the case of Bengal, 27 lakh genuine voters were disenfranchised. “Since there was not enough time, their appeals for inclusion in the voter list were not settled before the elections. They lost the right to vote”, he said, while cautioning against repeating the same process here.

“The Election Commission of India wants to repeat the same exercise in Punjab”, he said, adding, “we are confident that we will defeat their design”. He said, the party has asked its rank and file to ensure that not a single genuine voter is denied the right to vote with this fraudulent exercise of SIR.

Warring also appealed to other political parties in the state to beware and keep their political differences aside and ensure that Punjabi voters are not disenfranchised just ahead of elections because the BJP suspects them not to vote for it.

“Let us resolve not to allow the same thing happening in Punjab as happened in Bihar and Bengal”, he remarked.

Former Cabinet Minister and Member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), Vijay Inder Singla, has reached out to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Punjab through a formal letter, advocating for a robust drive to register young voters during the upcoming Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. A media release of May 15, 2026 states that Singla highlighted that the timing of the revision, coming so close to the Assembly elections, often leads to a trust deficit between the Election Commission, political parties, and the public. He stressed the necessity for the process to be conducted with absolute fairness and transparency to prevent the recurrence of issues previously seen in other states.

Expressing deep concern over the low engagement of the younger generation, Singla pointed out that according to 2024 data, only about 40% of eligible youth in the 18-19 age group were enrolled as voters. He emphasized that the vision of a "New Punjab" can only be realized through the fresh ideas of young minds. He further noted that the state requires innovative policy approaches to tackle pressing issues such as crime, drug addiction, the agricultural crisis, and unemployment, all of which demand the active participation of the Punjabi youth in the democratic process.

To address the existing enrolment gap, Singla suggested that the State Election Commission should launch targeted social media campaigns to reach out to the tech-savvy younger demographic. He also called for the sensitization of Booth Level Officers (BLOs), who will be tasked with door-to-door physical verification from June 25 to July 24, to ensure they actively enlist new voters. Closing his appeal, the former MP expressed his hope that the Commission would treat this matter with the highest priority to ensure every eligible young voter is empowered to shape the future of Punjab.

Will the Punjab Chief Electoral officer ensure that no foul play will happen in the entire process and every eligible voter gets the chance to utilize his franchise? The process will not create a West Bengal like situation. Transparency must not only exist but also be visible to the common man; this is the true test of democracy. (IPA Service)