BENGALURU: The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise will commence in Karnataka on June 20, and the final electoral roll will be published on October 7, 2026, the Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka, has said. This follows the Election Commission of India announcing the commencement of the third phase of SIR on Thursday.
The ECI announced SIR for 16 states and three Union Territories, excluding Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. Karnataka has been clubbed with Meghalaya, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Delhi for the qualifying date for SIR, scheduled for October 1.
Karnataka CEO V Anbhu Kumar said that so far, the mapping of 86.37 per cent electors had been completed and would continue till two days before the SIR draft roll is published on August 5, 2026. He said preparations for the SIR have been ongoing for some time and Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have been doing their designated jobs.
Preparation, training and printing of forms will start from June 20 to 29, 2026. BLOs will visit houses from June 30 to July 29, 2026. Citizens will get nearly a month’s time from August 5 to September 4 to file their claims, and objections and notices will be issued to people to submit their claims from August 5 to October 3. The ongoing census exercise will not have much impact on the SIR process, Kumar said.
There are 59,050 BLOs and 25,284 Booth Level Agents (BLAs) in Karnataka. As on May 12, 2026, there are 5,55,74,064 voters in the state.
A senior official in the CEO’s office said, “The questions listed in SIR are not controversial or seek any personal details. It has been politicized. Electors are asked to verify their name, date of birth, photograph, EPIC number and address, and lastly, SIR voting details on the pre-printed form.
Beyond this, they are asked to update their mobile numbers. It is optional to update Aadhaar number and other details, including names of spouses, their status and location during the last SIR, which was conducted in 2002.”
Electors should submit 1 of 11 listed documents
“Electors have to submit one of the 11 listed documents for identity and address proof and latest passport size photograph,” a senior official said.
The official said from June 20, the option of filling SIR forms online through the ECI website will also begin. Once the details are updated, BLOs can be informed and there would be no need to fill the forms again. Also, each elector need not fill and sign the forms. Any one family member can do it for all in the absence of other members. The forms will be printed in English and Kannada for all citizens to understand, the official added. Each elector will be given two sets of forms. One copy will be retained by the elector as proof, and the other is to be handed over to the BLO. Election officials will upload the form online and also save the hard copy as backup.
The official said a detailed interaction with political parties will also be held, explaining the SIR process. They will be asked to submit details of political agents working on the SIR. These agents are permitted to collect and submit 50 forms a day, the official added.
Data Base
Electors in K’taka (on May 12, 2026) -- 5,55,74,064
Number of BLOs – 59,050
Number of BLAs – 25,284
Mark the dates
Qualifying date for SIR: October 1, 2026
Preparation, training and printing: June 20-29
House visits by BLOs: June 30 to July 29
Rationalisation of polling stations: By July 29
Publication of draft electoral roll: August 5
Filing claims and objections: August 5 to September 4
Notice phase/disposal of claims, objections: August 5 to October 3
Publication of final electoral roll: October 7