ECI adds 'Mark VIP' feature to BLO app amid ongoing SIR

The Election Commission of India has introduced a 'Mark VIP' feature in the booth level officers' (BLO) app midway through the special intensive revision under way in 16 states and three Union territories, Hindustan Times reported. Delhi CEO office officials said the app was updated on July 30; Apple's App Store logged it on July 31. BLOs in Delhi and Haryana confirmed the module. Rules allowing VIP marking exist since 2018; Delhi has about 3,000 VIP electors. ECI did not respond.

Written by AI from Hindustan Times — India · not yet reviewed by an editor · Published 25 Sept 2026, 6:53 am IST

Source

Hindustan Times — India · read the original report ↗

#eci#sir#blo app#electoral rolls#vip voters

Desk check · some claims need care

What the desk checked (5)

ECI added a 'Mark VIP' feature to the BLO App on July 30, during the ongoing SIR in 16 states and three UTs — Attributed to unnamed officials in Delhi CEO's office; figures appear in source
Apple App Store logged the update on July 31 with descriptor 'mark VIP elector related changes'; no such record on Android Play Store — Reported as the publication's own check of app store records
BLOs in Delhi and Haryana confirmed the module is live; West Bengal BLOs said it was absent when SIR began there in November 2025 — Attributed to BLOs and an anonymous West Bengal BLO association member
Delhi has about 3,000 VIP electors and New Delhi district around 1,000 — Figures attributed to two anonymous officials; not independently confirmed in source
Provision to mark VIP voters has existed in EC rules and manual since 2018; March 2023 manual provides for flagging 'marked electors' — Cited to EC rules and the ECI Manual on Electoral Rolls; ECI gave no comment on the new feature

Written by AI from Hindustan Times — India · not yet reviewed by an editor · How we use AI · Report an error

Analysts’ view opinion

AI Political Analyst

Technically this may be a minor app update, but politically it hands the Opposition a ready-made line about "two classes of voters" in the middle of the SIR row. The ECI has a solid rule-based defence — officials say the VIP-marking provision has existed since 2018 and is spelt out in the 2023 electoral rolls manual — but the timing, mid-revision and amid a controversy over notices to prominent names, is awkward. The Commission's silence leaves that interpretive vacuum to be filled by its critics.

"Ordinary voters chase documents while VIP forms get processed first" is a simple, emotionally resonant argument that costs the Opposition nothing to make.
The provision may be old, but its operational rollout is new — changing the BLO app between the enumeration and claims-and-objections phases invites questions about process neutrality.
No response from the ECI, and no corresponding change log on the Android Playstore, sharpens the transparency critique regardless of intent.
That notices went to figures across the spectrum — the Delhi CM, Kejriwal, Advani, Jaishankar and even an election commissioner — cuts against a single-party-favouritism charge and is the ECI's strongest shield.
Since officials stress VIP electors are not immune from claims and objections, this fight will be waged over optics and perception rather than legal entitlement.

What to watch — Watch whether Opposition parties fold this feature into their wider SIR attack in Parliament and state assemblies, and whether the ECI issues a formal explanation or the underlying order.

The story does not establish who ordered the feature, under what authority, or that any voter was actually disadvantaged by it — and the ECI has not yet given its side.

Deep dive

Research brief · 8 facts · 6 dates · exam-ready

The brief

Context

The Election Commission of India (ECI) is running a special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in 16 states and three Union territories. Hindustan Times found that midway through this exercise, a new 'Mark VIP' feature was added to the app used by booth level officers (BLOs), who go door to door verifying electors. The addition comes amid a controversy in Delhi, where several prominent people were served logical discrepancy notices during the revision. Rules permitting the flagging of "marked electors" have existed in EC rules and the manual since 2018, but the in-app module is new.

Key facts

SIR is under way in 16 states and three Union territories; at the time of the update it was in the enumeration phase in Delhi and four other states and in the claims and objections phase in 10 others, including Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
Officials at Delhi's chief electoral officer's office said the BLO App was updated on July 30 with the 'Mark VIP' feature.
Apple's App Store logged the update on July 31 with the descriptor "mark VIP elector related changes"; no such record appeared on the Android Play Store.
BLOs in Delhi and Haryana confirmed the module was live; West Bengal BLOs said it was not present when SIR began there in November 2025.
The provision to mark some voters as VIP has existed in EC rules and the manual since 2018.
Delhi's list of VIP electors is about 3,000 strong, said a second official in the Delhi CEO's office; a senior New Delhi district official put the district figure at around 1,000.
Prominent people served logical discrepancy notices in Delhi include CM Rekha Gupta, former CM Arvind Kejriwal, former deputy PM LK Advani, external affairs minister S Jaishankar and election commissioner SS Sandhu.
ECI's March 2023 Manual on Electoral Rolls provides for flagging 'marked electors' including MPs, MLAs, MLCs, holders of declared offices, and personalities from arts, culture, journalism, sports, the judiciary and public services.

Timeline

2018Provision to mark some voters as VIP comes into EC rules and manual.
March 2023ECI's Manual on Electoral Rolls provides for flagging of 'marked electors' in the electoral database.
November 2025SIR begins in West Bengal; BLOs there say the 'Mark VIP' feature was not in the app at that time.
July 30Delhi CEO office officials say the BLO App was updated with the 'Mark VIP' feature.
July 31Apple App Store logs the update with the descriptor "mark VIP elector related changes".
Till Thursday nightECI did not respond to HT's queries on why the feature was introduced and under what authority.

Who has a stake

Election Commission of India — Authority for the app change rests with it; officials in the Delhi CEO office said orders come directly from the commission. It did not respond to queries.
Booth level officers (BLOs) — Use the app for door-to-door verification and now mark electors as VIP with an asterisk after visiting residences.
Delhi chief electoral officer's office — Says it cannot change apps or software; vets VIP markings after AERO and ERO and maintains a list of about 3,000 VIP electors.
AEROs and EROs — Vet the VIP marking and are directed to ensure marked electors appear in the draft roll for document collection during claims and objections.
VIP or 'marked' electors — Can be added to the draft roll irrespective of filling enumeration forms, are facilitated and need not visit hearing centres, but are not immune to notices.
Ordinary electors — A BLO from Kalkaji said VIP voters' forms were processed before those of others, raising questions of equal treatment.

Why it matters

Electoral rolls rest on the principle that every voter is treated alike, so a feature that lets officials flag some electors for priority handling mid-revision invites scrutiny of process and equity. That the ECI did not explain the timing or the authority for the change, and that the Android store carried no such record, deepens transparency questions during a politically contested roll revision.

UPSC angle

Prelims pointers

Special intensive revision (SIR) is under way in 16 states and three Union territories; phases include enumeration and claims and objections.
BLO App is the ECI application used by booth level officers; 'Mark VIP' feature logged on Apple App Store on July 31.
ECI's Manual on Electoral Rolls, March 2023, provides for flagging 'marked electors' in the electoral database.
Marked electors include MPs, MLAs, MLCs, holders of declared offices, judiciary, public services and figures from arts, culture, journalism and sports.
Provision to mark voters as VIP has existed in EC rules and manual since 2018; Delhi has about 3,000 VIP electors.
VIP electors can be added to the draft roll without filing enumeration forms but are not immune from claims and objections notices.

Mains framing

The introduction of a 'Mark VIP' module in the BLO App midway through the SIR raises a question central to electoral administration: whether procedural facilitation for a category of electors is consistent with the equality of the franchise. The provision itself is not new, as EC rules since 2018 and the March 2023 Manual on Electoral Rolls allow the flagging of 'marked electors' such as legislators, holders of declared offices, judges, public servants and public figures, with EROs directed to ensure they appear in the draft roll so documents can be collected during claims and objections. The concerns are about timing, uniformity and transparency: the feature was absent when SIR began in West Bengal in November 2025 but live in Delhi and Haryana; it surfaced when prominent Delhi electors, including the chief minister, a former chief minister and an election commissioner, had been served logical discrepancy notices; the change was visible on Apple's store but not on Android; and the ECI did not answer HT on the reason or the authority for it. A BLO's statement that VIP forms were processed before others illustrates how facilitation can slide into preference. The way forward, on the source's own terms, lies in the ECI publicly stating the legal basis, scope and audit trail of VIP marking and the AERO-ERO-CEO vetting chain, so that facilitation remains administrative and does not become differential treatment during roll revision.

Key terms

SIR (special intensive revision): The ongoing intensive revision of electoral rolls in 16 states and three Union territories, with enumeration and claims-and-objections phases.
BLO App: The ECI application used by booth level officers during door-to-door verification; updated on July 30 with the 'Mark VIP' feature.
Marked electors: Category under the ECI's March 2023 Manual on Electoral Rolls covering MPs, MLAs, MLCs, office holders, judiciary, public services and public figures.
ERO / AERO: Electoral registration officer and assistant electoral registration officer, who vet the BLO's VIP marking before the CEO's office.
Logical discrepancy notice: Notice served on an elector during the revision; several prominent Delhi electors received these despite VIP status.
Chief electoral officer (CEO): State-level electoral official; Delhi CEO office said it cannot alter the apps and that orders come directly from the commission.

Practice questions

Does the flagging of 'VIP' or 'marked' electors in the electoral database sit comfortably with the equality of the franchise? Discuss with reference to the ECI's Manual on Electoral Rolls.
Examine the transparency obligations of the Election Commission of India when it changes the digital tools used for electoral roll revision midway through an exercise.
What are the phases of a special intensive revision of electoral rolls, and what role do BLOs, EROs and CEOs play in each?

Grounded only in the source report — figures and dates are the source's, not inferred.

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