Pan-India SIR: EC to hold presser on Monday evening; may appoint volunteers for Bengal

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission of India is set to hold a presser on October 27 to announce pan-India Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voters' list, PTI reported citing officials. The poll body might also employ volunteers to assist booth-level officers (BLOs) during a probable special intensive revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal.Although full details are yet to be released, the EC is expected to announce the first phase of the SIR, covering 10 to 15 states, including those scheduled for Assembly elections in 2026. West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry are scheduled to go to polls coming year.Regarding Bengal, the official said that the volunteers will probably be selected from government employees in each block for the upcoming exercise."This is at the planning stage... These assistants will help the BLOs fill out enumeration forms and may also be deployed as substitutes, if required," PTI. quoted the official saying."As a result of this cap on the number of voters per booth, the number of polling booths in the state is likely to increase by around 14,000, from the existing 80,000 to around 94,000," they added.