Punjab CEO Anindita Mitra received rare praise from major political parties on Monday after publishing final electoral rolls. Representatives said, "She listened carefully to everything and made improvements wherever they were needed." The final list for 117 constituencies now includes over 2.01 crore voters, marking a 3.64 per cent increase.

While Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar faces protests in New Delhi over the revision of electoral rolls, Punjab Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Anindita Mitra received praise from representatives of the Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), BJP and AAP on Monday following the publication of the final electoral rolls after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

Representatives of all four parties said Mitra had heard their concerns, responded to queries and addressed issues raised during the exercise. However, Congress and AAP leaders subsequently clarified that their appreciation was specifically for the handling of the process in Punjab and should not be construed as an endorsement of the wider SIR exercise, which has triggered protests by opposition parties in Delhi and elsewhere.

The final electoral rolls for all 117 Assembly constituencies, published on Monday, have 2,01,00,727 electors, against 1,93,94,435 in the draft rolls published on August 13. This represents an increase of 3.64 per cent over the draft roll. The final electorate comprises 1,03,76,026 male voters, 97,24,195 female voters and 506 third-gender electors. A total of 7,97,263 electors were added during the claims and objections stage.

Arshdeep Singh Kler, SAD spokesperson, welcomed the exercise, saying there had been apprehensions about the SIR in Punjab. "We discussed our points with the Chief Electoral Officer at every meeting. She listened carefully to everything and made improvements wherever they were needed," Kler said.

He said the final roll contained around 2.01 crore voters and the exercise had concluded on a positive note. He also referred to the removal of names of people who had shifted or were no longer eligible, as well as the addition of new voters.

Punjab BJP legal cell chairman N K Verma said the process had been completed in a peaceful atmosphere. "Representatives of the BJP, Congress, AAP and SAD had raised no objections to the final list and praised Mitra for handling the exercise," he said.

AAP spokesperson Ferry Sofat said his party had repeatedly raised issues related to the SIR with the CEO since June and had received satisfactory responses. He also highlighted the participation of political parties through their Booth Level Agents (BLAs), saying representatives at the all-party meeting had appreciated the manner in which the exercise was conducted.

Sofat said the participation of around 90,000 BLAs appointed by political parties had helped the process. He also credited the Punjab government's support to Booth Level Officers (BLOs), who had been relieved of other official duties to focus on the revision.

Clarifying his party's position later, Sofat said the praise was specifically for the handling of the process in Punjab and did not mean the AAP had no concerns about the SIR elsewhere.

"We have raised the issue of problems in SIR in West Bengal, Delhi and other parts of the country with the Chief Electoral Officer. However, in Punjab the process has been smooth and well coordinated by CEO Anindita Mitra, and this is what has been praised," he said.

Congress spokesperson Hardeep Singh Kingra said the process in Punjab had been transparent and political parties had been kept informed at every stage. He said queries he raised in a WhatsApp group were answered promptly, sometimes even in the middle of the night, describing Mitra as "very active".

"There is an old saying that it is not enough for justice to be done; people must also feel that justice has been done," he said, stressing the importance of transparency in the exercise.

Kingra said Mitra had informed political representatives that anomalies in the current list could also be corrected through Form 6, the application used for inclusion of names in electoral rolls.

He later objected to his remarks being interpreted as the Congress endorsing the wider revision exercise, alleging that a section of the media was twisting his comments.

"I have not praised SIR. Please listen to my comments again. In Punjab we have not let the Election Commission do any irregularities. The CEO Anindita Mitra has done a good job and shouldn't it be praised? She used to respond to our messages in the middle of the night," Kingra said.