New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has instructed state election officers to prepare for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) by September 30, indicating that the voter list clean-up could commence as early as October-November. During a recent conference of state Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) in New Delhi, ECI leadership requested readiness for the SIR rollout within the next 10 to 15 days, establishing a clear deadline of September 30. CEOs have been directed to have their voter lists, published after the last SIR, accessible. Several State CEOs have already posted the updated voter lists on their websites.
For example, the Delhi CEO’s website features the voter list from 2008, the year of the last intensive revision in the Capital. In Uttarakhand, the last SIR occurred in 2006, and the electoral roll from that year is now available on the State CEO’s site. The last SIR in each state will act as the cut-off date, similar to how the 2003 voter list of Bihar is utilized for intensive revision. Most states conducted their last SIR between 2002 and 2004 and are nearing completion of mapping current electors against those from the previous intensive revision. The EC has announced that after Bihar, the SIR will be implemented nationwide.
Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal are scheduled for 2026. The main objective of the intensive revision is to eliminate illegal foreign migrants by verifying their places of birth, a move that holds particular importance given ongoing crackdowns on illegal migrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar.