NEW DELHI: Aiming to launch Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in 22 left over states and Union Territories sometime in April this year, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has written to Chief Electoral officers (CEOs) to complete the preparatory works in this regard at the earliest.
The states and the UTs, which are going to be covered in the third and final phase for the conduct of the SIR, include Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Ladakh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, NCT of Delhi, Odisha, Punjab, Sikkim, Tripura, Telangana, and Uttarakhand.
In the letter the ECI’s Secretary Pawan Diwan said, “Since the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the above States/UTs is expected to start from April, 2026, you are requested to complete preparatory work related to SIR, at the earliest.”
Diwan further said, “The Commission, vide Order No. 23/ERS/2025 dated June 24, 2025, had ordered the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls to be undertaken in all States and UTs.”
“In continuation of this, the Commission, vide letter No. 23/2025-ERS (Vol. II) dated July 5, 2025, directed all Chief Electoral Officers, except Bihar, to initiate pre-revision activities for the SIR exercise. Subsequently, through a letter dated October 27, 2025, the Commission announced the Special Intensive Revision exercise in 12 States and UTs, which is currently underway,” he noted.
Once the SIR process starts, BLOs will conduct door-to-door verification. Two forms will be filled out for each voter- one copy will remain with the voter and the other with the BLO. The form will carry a new colour photograph along with details such as EPIC number, father’s name and information relating to booth and constituency. The verification drive will continue for one month.
Following this, a draft booth-wise electoral roll will be published both at polling booths and online. Claims and objections will be invited and hearings will be conducted over a month. Provision for virtual hearings will also be available. The final electoral roll will be published thereafter. The entire SIR process is expected to be completed within three months.
In Bihar, the SIR was completed and the exercise is underway in nine States and three UTs including West Bengal, which turned out to be the most controversial leading to several rounds of hearing in the Supreme Court. In Assam, a ‘special revision’, instead of SIR, was completed on February 10.