Election Commission’s launches second phase of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) for 12 states to purge bogus, duplicate and ineligible names; timelines and affected states explained.
Election Commission’s Launches Nationwide SIR
The Election Commission of India on Monday announced a second phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls that will cover 12 states, signalling a nationwide effort to cleanse the voter list of bogus, duplicate and ineligible entries.
The SIR follows the exercise recently completed in Bihar ahead of its assembly polls; the final electoral roll in Bihar stood at 7.42 crore electors after the SIR, a drop of nearly 47 lakh from the preliminary list, the EC said while defending the exercise’s accuracy.
Officials told reporters the first phase of the pan-India exercise is likely to begin around November 1, starting with poll-bound states and Union territories such as Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal — jurisdictions slated for assembly polls in 2026 — while states facing “peculiar circumstances” may be excluded for now.
The Commission said the objective is administrative accuracy: removing deceased voters, duplicate entries and names of ineligible persons to ensure an updated and reliable electoral roll. The EC has also defended the Bihar SIR in court, saying no appeals have been filed against deletions and dismissing claims of disproportionate exclusion.
The announcement has already sparked pushback from some political leaders who cautioned against a hurried pan-India drive. Jammu & Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah urged the EC not to rush and to allow the Bihar process to conclude fully before expanding the exercise, highlighting the political sensitivity of mass revision drives.
