The Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Indian government have consistently framed the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) as a routine and much-needed clean-up of India’s electoral rolls.

In reality, however, it marks a deep shift. 

The push to use software systems to sanitise electoral rolls could be traced to the early 2000s with the explosion of the Information Technology industry. Despite the massive relevance of these systems in our democracy, the ECI has publicly disclosed very little about their algorithms and software architecture.

The goal is no longer maintaining unique voters in the electoral system with no duplicate records. With the SIR, the goal is also to create a tech-driven, centralised, algorithmic mapping of individuals, their networks, familial and marital ties. 

The technology behind SIR could pave the way for increasing centralisation and automation of electoral roll management. This raises questions about who ultimately makes decisions about inclusion and exclusion from the electoral roll, what role election officials retain, and whether the technology being used is subject to the transparency and safeguards that govern the electoral process.

EROs, BLOs sidelined?

At the centre of this ecosystem sits ECINET, a centralised portal that integrates all election-related services for voters and candidates, displays election results, and logs complaints related to electoral rolls. A super app, as one might call it, for all electoral functions of the ECI.  

Not a lot of information is available about ECINET’s functions. Instead, let us look at ERONET 2.0, a network of Electoral Registration Officers (EROs). 

In its annual report for 2024–25, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which built the software, showcased ERONET 2.0 as a ‘success client’ story. It described ERONET 2.0 as the end-to-end life cycle of electors that has revolutionised electoral roll management in India. 

It further said, “ERONET 2.0 application has a centralised database that serves as the single source of truth for the election body.” 

The electoral roll is a source of truth for elections, which needs to be public. Its preparation is a democratic exercise, and requires transparency and public hearings to remove anyone from electoral rolls. All of this is governed through the Representation of the People Act, 1951. Under the Act, the ERO is the final authority to include someone or to remove a voter from the electoral roll for a constituency. 

Are these electoral laws and rules being codified into the software system? 

The making of electoral rolls is a highly decentralised process, where the ERO decides who is on the voter list and who needs to be removed from it. The ECINET or ERONET can assist the ERO through this process by acting as a decision support system.........

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