Pan-India SIR to take place in phases from early Nov, states headed for polls in 2026 to go first: Report
The final plan will be announced after the conference, but the SIR is likely to take place in phases.
- Oct 23, 2025,
- Updated Oct 23, 2025 12:58 PM IST
The Election Commission (EC) met Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) from all states to review preparations for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists on Wednesday. The nationwide exercise to revise electoral rolls is likely to begin in phases from early November, The Indian Express reported, citing sources aware of the matter.
The two-day meeting began with a review of how ready state and Union Territory election officials are for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). The final plan will be announced after the conference, but the SIR is likely to take place in phases. The pan-India SIR will begin from Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, which go to polls next year, along with a few other states.
However, it is still unclear if Assam will be part of the first phase. Officials from the state have told the EC that they want to hold the revision only after the National Register of Citizens (NRC) is published. Assam is the only state that has already carried out an NRC exercise, and the EC has not yet decided whether to include it in the first phase or not.
When the modalities for the nationwide revision are finalised, the cut-off year of eligibility is likely to follow the same rule used in Bihar — the last year of an intensive revision, which was 2003. For this exercise, the poll body might allow voters to submit copies of their names from the voter list of any state’s last intensive revision, not only from the state where they live now.
During the Bihar SIR, voters were allowed to use extracts only from Bihar’s old voter list. This would help migrant workers. For instance, a voter from West Bengal who now lives in Mumbai can remain enrolled in Maharashtra if they can show their name, or a link to a voter’s name, in West Bengal’s 2002 electoral roll.
Wednesday’s meeting was the second round of discussions the EC has held with state CEOs on the subject in just over a month. At the previous meeting on September 10, the Commission had asked officials to trace as many existing voters as possible to the last intensive revision rolls to reduce the number of people who would need to submit documents to prove eligibility.
The mapping process — linking current electors with rolls from 2002 to 2008 — has not been smooth, especially in urban areas with high migration, officials said.
The Election Commission had first announced the Special Intensive Revision on June 24, starting with Bihar, where Assembly elections were scheduled. Under the order, all registered voters had to fill out forms to stay on the voter list. Those who enrolled after 2003 were also required to submit documents showing their date or place of birth to confirm eligibility and citizenship.
On Wednesday, the Commission — Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi — also checked the progress on appointments and training of officials at district, constituency, and booth levels.
“The Commission assessed the progress made on the directions previously issued to the CEOs to map the current electors with the electors as per the last SIR in the State/UT,” the EC said in a statement.
At a press conference on October 6, while announcing the Bihar Assembly elections, the Chief Election Commissioner said, “If you see the June 24 order, the EC has already taken the decision of conducting a pan-India SIR. Work is on. The Commission will hold a meeting to decide the dates for states and UTs.”
Some parties have challenged the EC’s decision to carry out the SIR in the Supreme Court. The move breaks from the practice of the last 20 years, when officials updated voter lists every year by adding or removing names. Before computerisation, officials revised voter lists intensively — preparing them completely from scratch each time.
The Election Commission (EC) met Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) from all states to review preparations for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists on Wednesday. The nationwide exercise to revise electoral rolls is likely to begin in phases from early November, The Indian Express reported, citing sources aware of the matter.
The two-day meeting began with a review of how ready state and Union Territory election officials are for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). The final plan will be announced after the conference, but the SIR is likely to take place in phases. The pan-India SIR will begin from Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, which go to polls next year, along with a few other states.
However, it is still unclear if Assam will be part of the first phase. Officials from the state have told the EC that they want to hold the revision only after the National Register of Citizens (NRC) is published. Assam is the only state that has already carried out an NRC exercise, and the EC has not yet decided whether to include it in the first phase or not.
When the modalities for the nationwide revision are finalised, the cut-off year of eligibility is likely to follow the same rule used in Bihar — the last year of an intensive revision, which was 2003. For this exercise, the poll body might allow voters to submit copies of their names from the voter list of any state’s last intensive revision, not only from the state where they live now.
During the Bihar SIR, voters were allowed to use extracts only from Bihar’s old voter list. This would help migrant workers. For instance, a voter from West Bengal who now lives in Mumbai can remain enrolled in Maharashtra if they can show their name, or a link to a voter’s name, in West Bengal’s 2002 electoral roll.
Wednesday’s meeting was the second round of discussions the EC has held with state CEOs on the subject in just over a month. At the previous meeting on September 10, the Commission had asked officials to trace as many existing voters as possible to the last intensive revision rolls to reduce the number of people who would need to submit documents to prove eligibility.
The mapping process — linking current electors with rolls from 2002 to 2008 — has not been smooth, especially in urban areas with high migration, officials said.
The Election Commission had first announced the Special Intensive Revision on June 24, starting with Bihar, where Assembly elections were scheduled. Under the order, all registered voters had to fill out forms to stay on the voter list. Those who enrolled after 2003 were also required to submit documents showing their date or place of birth to confirm eligibility and citizenship.
On Wednesday, the Commission — Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi — also checked the progress on appointments and training of officials at district, constituency, and booth levels.
“The Commission assessed the progress made on the directions previously issued to the CEOs to map the current electors with the electors as per the last SIR in the State/UT,” the EC said in a statement.
At a press conference on October 6, while announcing the Bihar Assembly elections, the Chief Election Commissioner said, “If you see the June 24 order, the EC has already taken the decision of conducting a pan-India SIR. Work is on. The Commission will hold a meeting to decide the dates for states and UTs.”
Some parties have challenged the EC’s decision to carry out the SIR in the Supreme Court. The move breaks from the practice of the last 20 years, when officials updated voter lists every year by adding or removing names. Before computerisation, officials revised voter lists intensively — preparing them completely from scratch each time.