NEW DELHI: The Election Commission (EC) announced on Thursday a Special Summary Revision (SSR) of electoral rolls in 17 states and Union Territories, directing that political parties be supplied with a "readable PDF format" in a first-ever move.
The move comes amid debate and protests across India over the poll body's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise across the country.
The states where SSR will be held include Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab and Manipur, where polls are due "early next year".
A machine-readable voter list has been a key demand of opposition parties. The EC has till now turned down this demand, citing fudging concerns and court orders.
In a key change, the EC will provide political parties with soft copies. Draft and final electoral rolls (without photos) will now be provided in "readable PDF format" instead of image PDF format.
At the draft stage, addition, deletion, and modification supplements will be shared with recognised political parties.
In a letter to the chief electoral officers of the states and Union territories, the EC said January 1, 2027, would be the qualifying date for the exercise.
According to the letter, the SSR covers Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Puducherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.
The letter says the schedule for states and UTs where the SIR is under way or has just ended, among them Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana and Delhi, will be announced later. The same applies to Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, where the SIR has not begun. Their schedule will follow, keeping weather conditions in view.
Under the schedule, polling stations are to be rationalised by November 2. Draft rolls will be published on November 12, with claims and objections accepted until December 11 and disposed of by December 28. Final rolls are due on January 4, 2027.
The commission is also seeking advance applications for three later qualifying dates: April 1, July 1 and October 1, 2027, the letter says. Only claims for January 1, 2027, will be decided in this round, while the rest will be handled in the relevant quarter.
The letter holds each electoral registration officer (ERO) responsible for ensuring that "no eligible citizen is left out while no ineligible person gets included". It says furnishing Aadhaar is voluntary and that no application will be denied, and no entry deleted, for failure to provide it.
On polling stations, the EC said, "No polling station has more than 1,200 electors, except with the prior approval of the Commission." Electors "should not be required to travel for more than two kilometres or cross any natural barriers", it said.
The letter also sets out safeguards against wrongful deletions. It refers to a separate October 9 order that limits Form 7 filings "to discourage bulk filing of applications by individual electors". EROs must personally cross-verify cases where deletions exceed 2 per cent of a polling station's electors or where the same person is the objector in more than five cases.
For each deletion, the ERO must pass "a speaking order after giving an opportunity of hearing to the concerned person". No decision on a claim or objection can be taken until at least seven clear days after the lists are published. Appeals lie to the District Magistrate and then to the chief electoral officer.
Booth-level agents of recognised parties "shall not submit more than 10 Forms to BLO per day". If an agent files more than 30 forms during the claims period, "the cross-verification must be done by ERO/AERO themselves", the letter said.
Invoking Article 324 of the Constitution, the EC directed chief secretaries to ensure that "no post notified as DEO/ERO/AERO is vacant". It also said that "no official connected with the exercise of SSR is transferred without prior approval of the Commission" between draft and final publication.
The letter also asks that women, transgender persons, Scheduled Tribes, senior citizens and persons with disabilities be "treated with due sensitivity and empathy".