The Election Commission of India (ECI) is likely to conduct a special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls across the country in a phased manner, beginning with states where assembly elections are scheduled for next year, officials said on Thursday.
According to sources, the SIR will focus on ensuring accuracy in voter lists by adding eligible voters, removing duplicates, and updating details such as addresses and corrections.
However, the Commission has decided not to undertake the exercise in states where local body elections are ongoing or imminent, as the local poll machinery will be occupied with those polls and unable to devote adequate attention to the voter list revision.
Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal are due in 2026. Besides these five states, SIR could be held in a few other states in the first phase.
The nationwide rollout of the SIR aims to strengthen the integrity and inclusiveness of the electoral process ahead of the upcoming assembly elections.
The voters’ list cleanup exercise has concluded in Bihar where the final list with nearly 7.42 crore names was published on September 30.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Monday said work is in progress to launch SIR of electoral rolls in all states and a final decision on its rollout will be taken by the Election Commission.
CEC Kumar had said the EC had announced its plan for a pan-India SIR while rolling out Bihar SIR on June 24.
The work is on and the three commissioners will meet to decide on dates for various states to launch their respective SIRs, he said.
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The primary objective of the SIR is to identify and remove foreign illegal migrants by verifying voters’ place of birth.
The move gains significance amid ongoing crackdowns across several states on illegal foreign migrants, particularly those from Bangladesh and Myanmar.
