India launched a revision of its voter rolls on Tuesday, expanding a contentious exercise that activists warn could fuel disenfranchisement in the world’s largest democracy.
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The three-month voter registration overhaul – known as the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) – kicked off in 12 states and territories, many of which are slated to hold local elections next year.
Tens of thousands of election officials and nearly half a million volunteers will go door-to-door to help residents complete voter enumeration forms.
Officials “will help the elector fill the enumeration form, collect it and submit it,” Election Commission of India (ECI) chief Gyanesh Kumar told reporters while announcing the exercise.
Earlier this year, the ECI conducted a similar revision in the eastern state of Bihar, home to more than 130 million people, ahead of its state elections beginning November 6.
The process led to the exclusion of around 6.5 million names, which the ECI said was necessary to prevent the inclusion of “foreign illegal immigrants”.
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