EC’s Assam Exception: What sets 'Special Revision' apart from SIR ahead of 2026 polls

EC sets November–December verification timeline; final voter roll to be published on February 10, 2026.

The Election Commission has ordered a Special Revision of Assam’s electoral rolls, with the final voter list due on February 10, 2026.

The directive comes at a time when several other states are undergoing a Special Intensive Revision (SIR), a much more exhaustive update.

Assam, however, has been placed on a separate track.

Here’s what that means.

A Special Revision is a mid-level voter roll update.

Officials describe it as 'between' the annual special summary revision and a full SIR.

Key features:

• Pre-filled registers will be used by booth-level officers (BLOs) for verification
• Elector details are cross-checked door-to-door
• No fresh enumeration forms are issued
• The process is targeted but not full-scale

This is meant to clean and update the rolls without the intensity and workload of a nationwide intensive revision.

SIR is the most comprehensive revision the EC orders.

It involves:

• Fresh enumeration
• Full ground verification
• Scrutiny of every elector’s details
• Detailed inclusion/exclusion checks
• Larger deployment of manpower and administrative machinery

SIR is typically used when the EC wants a deep reset of the voter rolls.

CEC Gyanesh Kumar recently clarified that SIR ordered on June 24 for multiple states cannot be applied to Assam.

Reason:

• Assam has distinct citizenship provisions under the Citizenship Act
• Citizenship verification in the state is currently under Supreme Court supervision
• A nationwide SIR could overlap or conflict with the ongoing citizenship-related processes

Therefore, the EC decided to issue a separate order for Assam, tailored to its legal and administrative conditions.

According to the EC’s schedule:

• Door-to-door verification: November 22 – December 20
• Draft electoral roll: December 27
• Final roll: February 10, 2026
• Qualifying date: January 1, 2026

BLOs will verify electors using pre-populated registers, making the process quicker and more structured than a regular summary revision.

Assam is scheduled to go to polls in 2026.

A Special Revision allows:

• Faster cleaning of voter rolls
• Reduced administrative burden
• Alignment with ongoing citizenship-related exercises
• A stable voter list ahead of election preparations

In contrast, a full SIR could have slowed election timelines or overlapped with Supreme Court–monitored processes.