New Delhi — The Election Commission of India (ECI) will begin the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise from Tuesday across nine states and three Union territories to update and clean up the voters’ list. Covering over 51 crore voters, the process will conclude with the publication of the final electoral rolls on February 7, 2026.
After its implementation in Bihar earlier this year—where a final list of 7.42 crore voters was published on September 30—this marks the second phase of SIR. The latest round will be conducted in 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 will go to polls in 2026. In Assam, however, the voter list revision will be conducted separately under Supreme Court supervision, as the state is undergoing a court-monitored citizenship verification process. “There will be separate revision orders issued for Assam,” Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar clarified, citing special citizenship provisions under the Citizenship Act.
The SIR process will begin on November 4 with the enumeration phase and continue until December 4. The draft rolls will be released on December 9, followed by the publication of the final list on February 7, 2026. This is the ninth SIR since Independence, with the last one held between 2002 and 2004.
According to the EC, SIR aims to ensure the inclusion of all eligible voters while removing ineligible or illegal entries. It also seeks to identify illegal migrants by verifying individuals’ places of birth, a measure that has gained prominence amid recent nationwide actions against undocumented foreign nationals from Bangladesh and Myanmar.
During the Bihar SIR, some political parties had criticized the exercise, alleging that it could disenfranchise citizens lacking adequate documentation. The EC, however, assured the Supreme Court that no legitimate voter would be excluded. Following the publication of Bihar’s final list, opposition criticism largely subsided.
In Tamil Nadu, several political parties have now resolved to approach the Supreme Court to challenge the exercise in the state.
Unlike in Bihar, the EC has tweaked the rules for the current SIR. Electors will not be required to submit documents during the enumeration stage. Instead, those whose details cannot be matched with previous SIR data will be asked to provide documentation after receiving a notice from the electoral registration officer. The EC has also added Aadhaar cards and Bihar’s updated voter rolls to the list of acceptable documents for verification.
The Commission maintains that the SIR will strengthen the electoral process, ensuring both accuracy and transparency in the world’s largest democracy.
