The Election Commission on Monday announced the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls for 12 states and Union territories, including West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu which will have elections in 2026.
The exercise will cover Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Goa, Puducherry, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Lakshadweep, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said at a press conference on Monday, October 27.
Apart from the poll-bound states, SIR will also be carried out in other states like Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Goa, Puducherry and the Union territories of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep.
SIR will ensure no eligible elector is left out
The itinerary of the SIR begins from Tuesday when the enumeration forms will be printed. Training of officials will start and continue till the final electoral rolls are published on February 7 next year. From November 4 – December 4 the Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will move from door to door with the partially printed enumeration forms matching and linking the voters to the voters list from 2002-2004.
Training of polling officials for Phase-II of SIR will begin on Tuesday, the CEC said, adding that each officer will visit every house thrice to avoid any bogus voters. “The SIR will ensure no eligible elector is left out and no ineligible elector is included in poll rolls,” Kumar said.
SIR has been conducted eight times since Independence. The last Special Intensive Revision of the electoral rolls was carried out across the country between 2002 and 2004. Voters whose names were in the electoral rolls of 2002, 2003 or 2004 or if the parents’ names were in the name of voters, they won’t have to submit any documents, the commission stated.
Aadhaar cards can be used only for identification
The chief election commissioner also said that Aadhaar cards can be used only for identification. He added that enumeration forms will be pre-filled with already available details, including details of the previous exercise.
“The existing electoral rolls in these states and Union territories will be on freeze-mode from midnight (Monday). The enumeration form will be taken to all the electors. Our task is to ensure no eligible voter is excluded and no ineligible voter’s name remains in the electoral rolls,” said CEC Gyanesh Kumar, while announcing the decision at Delhi’s Vigyan Bhawan on Monday afternoon.
No SIR in Assam due to ongoing NRC
Assam, the other state where elections are due for 2026, the SIR exercise will not be carried out as the state is already undergoing the National Register of Citizens (NRC) process. CEC Kumar said a separate order will be issued later for Assam, as the Citizenship Act has separate provisions for the state.
In a statement, the Election Commission said that it had directed the chief electoral officers to finalise their preparations for the exercise in their respective states and Union Territories.
Final voters list to be published on February 7
The BLOs will visit every home with the enumeration forms which will be handed over to the electors. They will also do an on-the-spot matching and linking with the electoral rolls from over two decades ago. Once the enumeration process is complete the draft electoral rolls will be published on December 9.
For claims and objections to the draft rolls, the Election Commission has set a month long deadline from December 9 to January 8. Hearings and verification of the same will be heard between December 9 and 31. The final voters list will be published on February 7 before the election schedule is announced for West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu is announced.
Bihar electoral roll error-free: Chief Election Commissioner
“In Bihar, the SIR process was carried out with the cooperation of all the political parties in 38 districts involving 7.5 crore electors. There has not been a single complain, zero appeals have been filed in any of the districts. The Bihar electoral roll is error-free,” Chief Election Commissioner stated.
The SIR was announced for Bihar in June this year and the exercise completed by September. Elections in Bihar will be held in two phases on November 6 and November 11 and the results will be declared on November 14.
After completion of SIR in Bihar, names of 68.66 lakh voters were deleted from the 7.89 crore on June 25 when SIR was declared. After the addition of 21.53 lakh voters, the final electoral roll in Bihar is 7.42 crore.