SIR exercise across India: EC to announce first phase dates today, may cover 10-15 states, says report

The Commission reportedly had instructed all states and Union Territories to start pre-matching previous and current electoral roll.

The Election Commission is preparing to roll out the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across the country, with the first phase likely to include around 10 to 15 states, including poll-bound West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry.

Officials told PTI  that the poll body will hold a press conference on Monday evening to announce the plan.

According to sources cited by The Indian Express, the initial phase of the SIR will focus on states that are due for Assembly elections in 2026 -- among them Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Assam and the Union Territory of Puducherry. The date for the nationwide rollout of the SIR is expected to be announced during Monday’s briefing. NDTV reported that around around 10 states will be included in the nationwide rollout of SIR.

According to NDTV, the Commission had instructed all states and Union Territories to start pre-matching previous and current electoral rolls, so the voter verification process will not take more time. The idea is to streamline the verification process and shorten the overall time frame, which, in Bihar’s case, had stretched from June 24 to September 30.

The Election Commission, comprising Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, is scheduled to address the press at 4:15 pm. Though the official media invitation did not mention the subject, officials confirmed the presser will pertain to the SIR schedule, The Indian Express reported.

Sources told The Indian Express that the revision could begin as early as November 1. Apart from the five poll-bound states, a few others may be added, though “states with peculiar circumstances, like where local body polls have been notified, could be left out for now,” one source noted.

The Commission’s decision to conduct the SIR follows a nationwide directive issued on June 24 to rework the electoral rolls, beginning with Bihar -- where the last such intensive revision took place in 2003. In contrast to the annual and pre-election Special Summary Revisions (SSR), which only update the rolls, the SIR involves a complete rebuild. Every voter is required to submit new enumeration forms to ensure accuracy.

“The Commission has noted that during the 20 years significant change in electoral roll has taken place due to additions and deletions on a large scale over this long period,” the EC said in its June 24 order. It added that rapid urbanisation, population migration for “education, livelihood and other reasons,” and duplicate entries had made a comprehensive overhaul necessary. The poll body also cited the potential inclusion of foreigners in the rolls over time as a factor.

In Bihar, the SIR drew sharp criticism from the Opposition, which accused the Commission of trying to disenfranchise vulnerable communities. The poll body defended its actions, stating that around 66,000 names were removed because of deaths, duplications or migration. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi went further, alleging “a collusion between the Commission and the BJP to deliver a massive mandate to the ruling party.”

The controversy even reached the Supreme Court, which later directed the inclusion of Aadhaar as one of the valid identity documents for the revision. The judges rejected the Commission’s concerns over potential forgery, asserting that instead of “en masse exclusion”, there must be “en masse inclusion.”

In Bihar’s SIR, the Commission required individuals registered after 2003 to provide additional documents establishing eligibility, including proof of citizenship. Initially, Aadhaar, ration cards and voter IDs were excluded from the list of acceptable documents. Following the Supreme Court’s order, Aadhaar was included as a proof of identity, though not as proof of citizenship.

Bihar’s rolls shrank by about six percent after the revision -- nearly 68.66 lakh names were deleted. The state’s experience has prompted the Commission to consider adjustments before the exercise expands to the rest of India. Sources told The Indian Express said the process in other states will likely follow the Bihar model, with a similar list of documents and a comparable time frame: roughly one month for enumeration and another for claims and objections.

The Election Commission had held a meeting with Chief Electoral Officers from all states and Union Territories in Delhi three days ago where they had discussed the experience in Bihar and decided to streamline the process.