नवीनतम
SIR exercise to begin in 9 states, 3 UTs from today
KOLKATA [Maha Media]: The Election Commission of India (EC) will launch the second round of its Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise today, covering nine states and three Union territories with a combined electorate of around 51 crore.
The large-scale revision of the electoral rolls will conclude with the publication of the final voter list on February 7, 2026. This marks the second phase of the SIR, following its implementation in Bihar, where the final electoral roll containing nearly 7.42 crore names was published on September 30.
The new phase will include the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. Among these, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, and West Bengal are due for assembly elections in 2026. Assam, another state headed for polls that year, will not be part of this round due to an ongoing Supreme Court-supervised verification of citizenship under the provisions of the Citizenship Act.
The SIR will begin with the enumeration stage today and continue until December 4. Draft electoral rolls will be released on December 9, followed by the final publication on February 7, 2026. This will be the ninth such revision since independence, the last one having taken place between 2002 and 2004.
According to the EC, the SIR aims to ensure that no eligible citizen is left out of the rolls while removing ineligible names, including illegal migrants. The process involves verifying voters’ place of birth, which officials say will help identify non-citizens, particularly in light of recent crackdowns on illegal migrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar.
The voters' list revision would commence after a similar exercise was conducted in the state in 2002.
While the BJP has welcomed the SIR as a step towards ensuring greater transparency in the electoral rolls, the ruling TMC has questioned its timing and intent, alleging that the Election Commission (EC) is acting under pressure from the saffron party to manipulate the voter list ahead of the state elections next year.
