Mumbai, May 23 -- With the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls set to begin soon in Maharashtra, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has clarified that proving nationality is a constitutional obligation for eligibility to vote, amid demands from the opposition that the process must not be used to ask residents for citizenship proof. Voters can prove their nationality by submitting any one of the 11 specified documents, said S Chockalingam, the chief electoral officer (CEO) of Maharashtra. He also clarified that an Aadhaar card cannot be treated as proof of citizenship, but can serve as proof of identity. The ECI is implementing the SIR for Maharashtra's 98.6 million existing voters between June 30 and July 29, after which draft electoral rolls will be published on August 5. Ahead of the exercise, the office of the Maharashtra CEO, representing the ECI, undertook mapping of the existing electoral rolls with the 2002 voter list, when the last SIR was conducted. The ECI has mapped 70% of existing voters with their citizenship records from 2002, meaning these voters will not have to produce documentary proof during the SIR, officials said. However, cities such as Mumbai, Thane and Pune lag behind the state average because of a high number of duplicate entries and frequent migration and shifting of residents. Mumbai and Mumbai Suburban districts have mapping percentages of 60% and 50%, respectively, officials said. "The voters whose mapping has already been completed will not have to submit any documents," said Chockalingam. "The mapping process will continue for the next month, and voters still have an opportunity to trace their or their family's records from the 2002 voter list for mapping. Those without mapping will have to provide one of the 11 listed documents." Voters not listed on the 2002 electoral rolls have been divided into three age categories for document requirements: those born before July 1, 1987, will have to provide their own proof documents; those born between July 1, 1987, and December 2, 2004, will have to submit their own documents along with proof related to either their mother or father; those born after December 2, 2004, will have to provide nationality documents of both parents. On Wednesday, leaders of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) met with Chockalingam and submitted a detailed multi-point memorandum regarding the SIR process. The leaders raised concerns that the SIR is being utilised as a "backdoor form of the National Register of Citizens (NRC)", and demanded that the ECI accept standard, easily accessible documents for voter verification. An official from the CEO's office said the requirement to prove nationality is a constitutional obligation, which was clarified in a May 2025 circular issued by the poll body. "Article 324 explicitly empowers the election commission to conduct elections in India, while Article 326 prescribes two conditions for voting-the individual must be a citizen of India and at least 18 years old," the circular states. Chockalingam said booth-level officers responsible for mapping will visit every household at least three times during the one-month exercise. "Any member of the family can verify or register other family members as voters. If a family is unavailable at home or if their names are not reflected in the electoral rolls, they will still have the opportunity to file objections and claims between August 5 and September 4," he said. Chockalingam added that the SIR process is aimed at deleting absent, shifted, deceased and duplicate voters....