NEW DELHI: The Election Commission is set to initiate a comprehensive revision of the voters’ list across India, starting with several states that have upcoming assembly elections next year, according to officials. The process will not be conducted in states where local body elections are either ongoing or scheduled, as local electoral bodies are engaged with those elections and may find it challenging to manage the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal are scheduled for 2026. Besides these five states, SIR may also be implemented in a select few other states during the initial phase.
The cleanup of the voters’ list in Bihar has recently concluded, with the final list, comprising nearly 7.42 crore names, published on September 30. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar stated on Monday that preparations are underway to launch the SIR across all states, with a final decision on its implementation to be made by the Election Commission. When asked about the Bihar assembly polls during a press conference, CEC Kumar noted that the EC had announced its intention for a nationwide SIR while launching the Bihar SIR on June 24. Progress is being made, and the three commissioners will convene to establish the timeline for launching SIRs in the respective states.
According to officials, the top officials of the EC had instructed state chief electoral officers (CEOs) during a recent conference to be prepared for the SIR rollout within the next 10 to 15 days. For better coordination, a September 30 deadline was set for the CEOs to finalize their electoral roll cleanup activities. They have been directed to ensure that the electoral rolls published since the last SIR in their states are readily available. Several CEOs have already uploaded the updated voter lists on their websites.
The Delhi CEO’s site features the 2008 voter list, marking the last intensive revision in the capital, while Uttarakhand’s most recent SIR was in 2006, with that year’s electoral roll available on the state CEO’s website. The last SIR in different states will serve as the reference point, similar to how the 2003 voter list of Bihar was utilized by the EC for intensive revision. Most states conducted their last SIRs between 2002 and 2004. Most states have nearly finished aligning current electors with the voters from the last SIR in their respective states or Union Territories. The main objective of the SIR is to eliminate foreign illegal migrants by verifying their birthplace.
This initiative is particularly important given the recent crackdown on illegal foreign migrants in various states, including those from Bangladesh and Myanmar.