Ranchi’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) camps recorded sparse voter turnout on October 7, with many residents apparently waiting for booth level officers (BLOs) to help them complete electoral-roll formalities at home. The camps, being held at polling stations across the district from October 7 to 9, are intended to support the digitisation of Form 6 applications and the processing of Forms 7 and 8.
Several centres were reported to have few visitors, while some had BLOs absent or available only in limited numbers. Officials attributed the low footfall to the Election Commission’s decision allowing voters to complete SIR-related work from their homes with BLO assistance. “People are perhaps now waiting for the BLOs to come to their houses,” an official said.
The situation has prompted election authorities to intensify efforts to inform voters about the camps and the available verification process. Chief electoral officer K Ravi Kumar has directed district officials to increase publicity, coordinate with recognised political parties and ensure that no eligible voter is excluded from the electoral roll.
While polling stations remained largely quiet, work continued at the Ranchi district collectorate. BLOs, teachers and volunteers were engaged in examining forms, digitising applications and forwarding verified records to the district election office. The support staff included teachers and volunteers from schools such as DMS Tharpakna Bangla School, St Margaret’s UP Girls School, GPS Kanya Silwai School and GPS Old Police Line School.
The verification process is focused on identifying and correcting discrepancies in voter records. Officials said such discrepancies may result from errors in enumeration forms, mapping mistakes or problems in legacy data. This makes the accuracy of submitted information and the verification of existing records important parts of the revision exercise.
The low turnout also highlights the administrative challenge of running a public verification programme through both fixed-location camps and doorstep assistance. If voters rely primarily on BLO visits, election officials will need to ensure that field-level staff reach households in time and that residents understand the documents and forms required for the process.
The camps will continue through Thursday, while a district-wide mega helpdesk is scheduled for October 10. Election authorities are using the remaining outreach activity to contact voters who have not visited polling stations and to complete pending roll-verification work.
