P. Chidambaram publicly demanded that the Election Commissioner be surcharged for double expenditure after the ECI halted the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) for 17 states and Union Territories— a move he says was prompted by a Supreme Court notice and mass protests.
The Commission had originally rolled out SIR across all 36 states and UTs, but after the court's intervention it abandoned the exercise in 17 regions, directing them instead to carry out a Special Summary Revision (SSR).
Chidambaram blasted the decision, accusing the body of removing 13.3 million names—many of them deceased—without due process and calling the resulting double spending a blatant misuse of public funds.
The SSR will follow a tight timetable: draft rolls are due on November 12, polling stations rationalised by November 2, and voter objections can be filed until December 11, with final rolls to be published on January 4, 2027.
A resident of West Bengal told reporters that his name had been inexplicably dropped, forcing him to re‑register and adding to the growing frustration among voters. The opposition has called for a judicial review of the Commission's conduct.
The Commission will release detailed schedules for the remaining nine states next week, while the court is expected to rule on the surcharge claim by mid‑April.