Patiala News:SIR: 90.88% Digitisation Completed in Patiala District — Dr. Himanshu Aggarwal
-Draft publication of electoral rolls on August 13; claims and objections to be invited till September 12
-Final publication of electoral rolls on October 12, 2026; voters can contact toll-free number 1950 for any complaint or information
Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Election Officer, Patiala, Dr. Himanshu Aggarwal said that during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR)-2026 of electoral rolls being undertaken by the Election Commission of India on the basis of the 2003 electoral rolls, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) in Patiala district have completed 90.88 per cent digitisation by filling 13,81,414 enumeration forms till August 3. He said that the district administration is making every effort to ensure that no eligible citizen of Patiala district is left out of the electoral rolls and that no ineligible person is included in them.
The Deputy Commissioner said that as on June 8, 2026, Patiala district had 15,20,038 registered voters. Of these, 1,38,624 voters, constituting 9.12 per cent, either could not be found during the three visits made by BLOs to their residences, had shifted to another location, or had passed away and therefore could not fill and submit their enumeration forms.
Addressing a press conference today, Dr. Himanshu Aggarwal said that the next stage of the SIR process would now be completed and the draft electoral rolls would be published on August 13. Voters whose names do not appear in the draft rolls will be able to file their claims and objections from August 13 to September 12. He said that citizens attaining the age of 18 years as on October 1, 2026, will be eligible to register as new voters by filling Form No. 6. Further, voters who could not submit their forms for any reason and whose names are consequently missing from the draft electoral rolls will also be able to submit their forms along with any one of the documents prescribed by the Election Commission. The final publication of the electoral rolls will thereafter be made on October 12, 2026.
The District Election Officer said that 84,347 voters had submitted their forms, but their details could not be mapped with the 2003 electoral rolls. Notices will be issued to such voters. Similarly, some discrepancy has been found in the records of 1,95,078 voters, who will also be issued notices. They will have to submit their replies to the concerned BLOs or the respective SDM-cum-Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) offices from August 13 to September 12, 2026. The documents submitted by them will be scrutinised. He said that if a voter’s claim or objection is not resolved, the voter can file an appeal before the District Election Officer and thereafter before the Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab.
Replying to questions from journalists, Dr. Himanshu Aggarwal said that he had personally held a meeting with representatives of political parties and the rationalisation of polling stations in the district had also been completed. With 75 additional polling stations being created due to the presence of more than 1,200 voters at certain polling stations, the total number of polling stations in the district has increased from 1,786 to 1,861. He appealed to voters of the district not to spread any misinformation or rumours regarding SIR. In case of any complaint, voters may contact their respective BLOs, the concerned SDM office, the office of the District Election Officer or the toll-free number 1950.
The District Election Officer, Dr. Aggarwal, said that no eligible citizen of Patiala district would be excluded from the electoral rolls and every effort was being made to ensure that no ineligible or unauthorised person was included in the rolls. Replying to a question, he said that according to the figures emerging from the draft rolls, there are 7,18,688 male voters, 6,62,683 female voters and 47 third-gender voters, taking the total number of voters to 13,38,418. As per the figures of June 8, 2026, out of the total 15,20,038 voters, among the enumeration forms that have not been submitted so far, 43,617 voters have died, 25,148 voters could not be traced for various reasons, 61,156 voters have shifted to another location, 632 fall under other categories, while 8,071 have filled their forms. Additional Deputy Commissioner Anuprita Johal and Election Tehsildar Vijay Kumar Chaudhary were also present on the occasion.