NEW DELHI: The Election Commission of India (ECI) is set to announce the schedule for the nationwide Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls on Monday afternoon, officials said.
The schedule will be announced in a press briefing, which will be attended by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.
According to sources in the ECI, the exercise will be rolled out in phases, with the first phase scheduled to begin on November 1.
This phase will cover over 10 states and one Union Territory, including the election-bound states of Assam, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, and West Bengal.
"The SIR is likely to be rolled out in two phases. The first phase will include Assam, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, and West Bengal, where Assembly elections are due in 2026,” a source said, adding: “The second phase will cover States that are holding local body elections and where severe winter weather may create challenges for the electoral revision process.”
In this regard, all the Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of the States and the Union Territory have been instructed to remain alert as work may start at any moment.
The ECI had recently reviewed the readiness of all States and Union Territories for the country-wide SIR during a two-day conference of Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs), which concluded in New Delhi last Thursday.
During the last conference, the Commission heard the points raised by the CEOs of various States and clarified general queries, while a detailed presentation on the SIR was also held.
The Commission reviewed the progress made on earlier directions issued to the CEOs, which required mapping current electors against the lists from the last SIR in all States and Union Territories, according to an official statement issued by the poll body.
This conference was a follow-up to the SIR preparedness meeting held on September 10, during which all States and Union Territories gave detailed presentations on the number of electors, the qualifying date of the last SIR and the status of electoral rolls in their respective regions.
The nationwide SIR was earlier announced by the ECI on 24 June 2025, alongside the SIR for Bihar. The process has faced legal challenges in the Supreme Court. While the court did not question the ECI’s authority to conduct the SIR, it instructed that Aadhaar be included as the twelfth document for proof of identity.
The SIR aims to ensure that electoral rolls across India are accurate, up-to-date and inclusive. By closely coordinating with the CEOs of various States and Union Territories, the ECI seeks to minimise errors and discrepancies ahead of the upcoming elections.
With elections scheduled in key States in 2026, this nationwide SIR process is expected to play a crucial role in strengthening the democratic process and improving voter accessibility, sources in the Commission said.
