SIR vs SR: Why Assam’s voter revision is different from rest of India 

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma recently said whenever the EC undertakes a SIR in the state, it will be carried out.

• Assam releases final electoral roll after Special Revision, unlike other states.
• SR involved door-to-door verification by 29,656 booth level officers
• Electoral roll increased by 1.35%, with 7,86,841 additions and 4,47,196 deletions.

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The final electoral roll after the Special Revision (SR) in Assam is slated to be published on Tuesday. However, the process has been different from the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise conducted in 12 other states and Union Territories.

Assam is the only state to be placed under a standalone SR, a process tailored to accommodate its unique demographic verification history linked to the NRC.

In Assam, the SR exercise was carried out through door-to-door verification, rather than form-filling or document submission. To carry out the exercise, 29,656 booth level officers (BLOs) were deployed across the state.

According to PTI, the draft roll after the SR reflected a total of 2,52,01,624 electors. This represented a 1.35% increase from the previous final roll published in January 2025. A total of 7,86,841 additions and 4,47,196 deletions took place from January 6 to December 27 last year.

During the SR process, 4,78,992 deceased electors and 5,23,680 shifted electors were identified. Another 53,619 multiple entries were identified.

What is SR?

According to officials, the special revision (SR) exercise is a mid-level update of electoral rolls, positioned between the annual summary revision and a full-fledged SIR.

The purpose of this exercise is to ensure Assam’s rolls are updated before polls, but without the full-scale “intensive” exercise as being undertaken as part of the SIR process.

During the exercise, poll officials are mandated to ensure that every eligible person—under Article 326 of the Constitution of India and Sections 16 and 19 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950—is enrolled as a voter.

Key differences between SR and SIR

A Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is a large-scale verification exercise undertaken by the Election Commission as it believes the routine annual Summary Revision is insufficient to clean and update the electoral rolls.

The SIR exercise involves fresh enumeration, full ground verification, scrutiny of every elector’s detail, detailed inclusion/exclusion checks and larger deployment of manpower and administrative machinery.

Meanwhile, SR entails pre-filled registers which are used by BLOs for verification. Also, elector details are cross-checked door-to-door and no fresh enumeration forms are issued.

Why wasn’t SIR conducted in Assam?

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar recently clarified that the SIR exercise cannot be extended to Assam.

He cited Assam’s distinct citizenship provisions under the Citizenship Act and noted that citizenship verification in the state is currently under the supervision of the Supreme Court. Applying a nationwide SIR, he said, could overlap or conflict with these ongoing processes.

As a result, the EC decided to issue a separate, Assam-specific order, tailored to the state’s unique legal and administrative framework.

For Assam, SR is significant as it is the first such exercise in the state after the final NRC was published on August 31, 2019. The exercise aims to enhance transparency, remove errors, and prepare the electoral rolls for the 2026 Assam Assembly elections.

Will Assam ever conduct SIR?

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma recently said whenever the EC undertakes a SIR in the state, it will be carried out in a “very extensive” and thorough manner.

"Here, the SIR will be very extensive and properly done. I had requested the Election Commission to do the SIR even now, but they conducted the SR due to non-publication of the NRC. We welcome the SIR," Sarma told PTI.