The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday extended the deadline for submission of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) across five states and one Union Territory by one week. SIR deadline has been extended for Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and the UT of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
According to the Election Commission’s notification, the deadline for submitting enumeration forms in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat has been extended to December 19 from the previous deadline of December 14. In Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the last date for submitting enumeration forms is now December 23 as compared to the previous date of December 18.
In Uttar Pradesh, enumeration forms can be submitted until December 26. The deadline for publishing the draft voter list has also been changed. In Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, the draft list will be published on December 19. In Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the list will be released on December 23. In Uttar Pradesh, the draft list will be published on December 31 instead of its previous deadline of December 26.
Enumeration period for Goa, Gujarat, Lakshadweep, Rajasthan and West Bengal ended today, December 11. The draft Electoral Rolls for these States/UT will be published on December 16. The schedule for Kerala was revised earlier and the Enumeration Period for the State of Kerala would end by December 18 and the draft Electoral Roll will be published on December 23.
Deadline extension requested by Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly Elections are scheduled in February-March 2027. UP Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa said the state had requested the Election Commission of India to grant an additional two weeks to complete the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in an organised manner and to ensure an accurate and updated electoral roll. He said that the extension was sought to allow district election officers to re-verify details of deceased, shifted, and absent voters.
As of the other states which got a deadline extension of SIR, Gujarat is expected to have elections by December 2027, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh in November 2028 and Tamil Nadu in 2026.
In Tamil Nadu, the ruling DMK and its alliance partners have been holding protest demonstrations against SIR exercise. With Assembly elections round the corner, political leaders are voicing their protest against the Special intensive revision of electoral rolls.
Mamata Banerjee calls Amit Shah ‘dangerous,’ slams SIR
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday launched a verbal attack on Union Home Minister Amit Shah, calling him “dangerous.” The TMC supremo also asserted that she would sit on a dharna if the name of a single voter is deleted from the electoral roll.
Addressing a public meeting in Krishnanagar in Nadia district, the Chief Minister said, “The country’s home minister is dangerous. You can see it in his eyes… it’s terrifying. In one eye, you see ‘Duryodhan’, and in the other, ‘Dushasan’.”
Alleging that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was being used as a political weapon ahead of the 2026 assembly polls, the CM said, “If even a single eligible voter’s name is struck off, I will sit on a dharna. There will be no detention camps in West Bengal. They are so hungry for votes that they are conducting the SIR just two months before elections.”
SIR in West Bengal
It is worth noting that West Bengal Assembly Elections are scheduled for 2026. On October 28, the Election Commission announced the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list in West Bengal. The Election Commission has started the special intensive revision of the voter list in 12 states, including West Bengal. It is worth mentioning that the last SIR in West Bengal was conducted in 2002. Accordingly, the Election Commission has given importance to that year’s voter list in this year’s SIR. It has been announced that those whose names are on that year’s list will not need to show any additional documents. Despite this, there is fear among the general public about what will happen if their names are removed from the list.
The ruling Trinamool Congress in the state has been opposing the SIR from ever since it was announced. They fear that the names of legitimate voters may be removed under the guise of SIR. Trinamool leaders allege that this is a conspiracy by the BJP. Besides alerting the public about this, the Trinamool has launched help desks across the state since November 4. From Friday, ‘May I Help You’ camps will be started in the state. The state government will provide assistance in preparing various documents.