ITANAGAR : Arunachal Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Pawan Kumar Sain on Tuesday urged political parties to expedite the appointment of Booth Level Agents (BLAs) for the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state.
Chairing a state-level coordination meeting with representatives of political parties at Nirvachan Bhawan, the Chief Electoral Officer reviewed preparedness for the SIR exercise, which is being undertaken as part of Phase-III activities in continuation of earlier deliberations held on September 16, 2025.
The meeting was attended by Joint Chief Electoral Officer Liken Koyu and Deputy Chief Electoral Officer Shania Kayem Mize.
Sain informed that the Election Commission of India (ECI), vide notification dated May 14, 2026, has launched the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Arunachal Pradesh, necessitated after a gap of nearly two decades due to large-scale demographic changes, urbanisation, migration, and concerns over electoral roll accuracy, including removal of duplicate, deceased and foreign electors.
He stressed that political parties have a crucial role in ensuring the accuracy and purification of electoral rolls and urged them to appoint BLAs for each polling station without delay.
Arunachal Pradesh has 2,288 polling stations.
The updated status of BLA appointments shared during the meeting showed Bharatiya Janata Party with 2,286, Indian National Congress 422, National People’s Party 100, People’s Party of Arunachal 239, Nationalist Congress Party 43, and Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar) 41, taking the total to 3,131 BLAs appointed so far.
Joint CEO Liken Koyu made a detailed PowerPoint presentation on the SIR process, covering training of election officials, enumeration, rationalisation of polling stations, publication of draft electoral rolls, claims and objections, verification procedures, and final publication of rolls.
The CEO also instructed political parties to ensure active participation of their district-level representatives in meetings convened by District Election Officers and Electoral Registration Officers during the revision process.
Clarifying queries on Aadhaar, it was reiterated that Aadhaar is a proof of identity and not proof of citizenship, domicile or date of birth, as per provisions of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016, and updated guidelines issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) in August 2023.
The meeting also underscored key legal provisions governing electoral roll revision, including Article 326 of the Constitution of India, Rule 25(1) of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, and provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955 relating to voter eligibility.
The Chief Electoral Officer also cautioned that furnishing false declarations in connection with electoral rolls is punishable under the Representation of the People Act, 1950, with imprisonment up to one year, or fine, or both.
