“16 BLOs Died in 19 Days Due to Stress and Fear of Suspension,” Says Sanjay Singh on SIR

A Rajya Sabha member urges an urgent debate on the SIR voter list revisions, citing mass deletions, staff pressures, and potential rights violations affecting India's electoral integrity ahead of 2026 polls. The action questions verification standards, timelines, and the Election Commission's accountability.

Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh has sought an urgent debate on the special intensive revision, or SIR, alleging that the exercise is causing arbitrary voter deletions and heavy pressure on booth level officers. Singh has linked the process to 16 reported BLO deaths in 19 days and warned of a wide threat to voting rights across India.

Sanjay Singh has submitted a notice under Rule 267 of the Rajya Sabha’s Procedure and Conduct of Business rules, asking for suspension of all scheduled work. Singh has requested that SIR be stopped immediately, existing electoral rolls be restored, and the Election Commission’s accountability be fixed, citing threats to rights under Articles 14, 21 and 326.

SIR voter list process and national scale concerns

In the notice, Singh describes the SIR voter list exercise run by the Election Commission of India as a nationwide crisis for electoral fairness. The revision, meant to update and clean rolls, is alleged to have resulted instead in mass deletions, serious procedural violations and widespread human distress, which Singh argues endanger free and fair elections.

Sanjay Singh points out that, despite serious issues reported in Bihar, the Election Commission expanded the second phase of SIR voter list work on 19 November 2025. The programme now covers 12 states, 321 districts and about 51 crore electors, ahead of major elections in 2026, which Singh says heightens the risk to electoral credibility.

According to Singh, Bihar has seen what is described as unprecedented and unfair removal of names from the SIR voter list. Singh claims that 65 lakh voters were deleted without proper verification, and in several assembly constituencies, the number of deletions exceeds previous winning margins, raising fears about the effect on electoral outcomes.

SIR voter list workload and BLO deaths data

Singh argues that deletion patterns suggest possible targeting of migrants, women, minorities and other vulnerable sections, raising concerns that these groups could lose voting rights. Singh adds that there is no meaningful appeal mechanism and that opaque deletion procedures show a complete failure of due process and transparency in managing the SIR voter list.

Giving details of the human impact, Sanjay Singh states that the SIR voter list drive has created unbearable pressure on booth level officers, turning into a humanitarian crisis. Within just 19 days, up to the end of November 2025, at least 16 BLOs reportedly died, with suicides mentioned among the cases linked to work conditions.

Media reports cited by Singh link these BLO deaths to inhuman workloads, intense mental stress, loss of sleep, unsafe field conditions and constant fear of punitive action based on performance rankings. Repeated app failures, unrealistic targets and threats of suspension are alleged to have pushed frontline staff into dangerous working environments under the SIR voter list programme.

Singh also questions the time frame fixed by the Election Commission for the SIR voter list verification. In the second phase, door-to-door verification must finish by 4 December 2025, leaving about one month for house visits, form processing and digitisation, which Singh calls arbitrary and impractical for such a large exercise.

SIR voter list documentation rules and legal issues

By contrast, Singh notes that in 2003 the Election Commission took six to eight months, around 243 days, for electoral roll revision, which allowed more time for verification, corrections and scrutiny. The 2025 SIR voter list schedule compresses door-to-door verification, document checks and final publication into only 97 days, according to Singh’s analysis.

Sanjay Singh highlights that the 2003 guidelines treated the existing electoral roll and voter identity card as primary evidence and assumed that registered voters were valid. The 2025 SIR voter list approach reverses this, demanding fresh documents from existing voters, which Singh argues is very difficult for many ordinary citizens.

Referring to judicial concerns, Singh says the Supreme Court has also questioned the documentation burden created by SIR voter list norms. During a hearing, Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia remarked, “In a country where so many people lack proper documents, how can you expect everyone to produce all of them? Even I do not have a birth certificate.”

Singh cites this remark to argue that the basic design of the 2025 SIR voter list process is unrealistic in a country where many people lack formal documents. Singh warns that such requirements can exclude large numbers of citizens from the voter list, leaving many without voting rights, especially in already vulnerable communities.

On constitutional grounds, Sanjay Singh states that the SIR voter list exercise threatens the right to vote under Article 326, the right to equality before law under Article 14 and the protection of life and personal liberty, including free and fair elections, under Article 21. Singh frames these combined issues as a serious constitutional crisis affecting electoral democracy.

Because of these concerns, Singh has asked the Rajya Sabha Secretary-General to suspend all other business under Rule 267 and hold an immediate discussion on the SIR voter list issue. Singh’s demands include halting SIR, restoring the earlier electoral rolls and fixing accountability for the Election Commission’s actions before the 2026 electoral cycle advances further.

The data presented by Sanjay Singh on mass deletions, compressed timelines, BLO deaths and heavy documentation demands suggests a deep conflict between administrative aims and voter access under the SIR voter list system. Whether Parliament intervenes or not, the concerns raised place sharp attention on how electoral rolls are being revised before the 2026 elections.