EC gears up for fresh SIR in 22 states from April - is yours included?

The Election Commission (EC) is preparing for another round of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. On Thursday, the poll body asked 22 states and Union Territories (UTs) to complete preparatory work related to the SIR at the earliest, as the exercise is "expected to start from April", according to news agency PTI.

In a communication to chief electoral officers, the commission said the pan-India SIR - first ordered in June last year - is expected to expand further once ongoing phases are completed.

The states and UTs asked to expedite preparations include Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Ladakh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Delhi, Odisha, Punjab, Sikkim, Tripura, Telangana, and Uttarakhand.

The Commission said the exercise has already been completed in Bihar and is currently underway in nine states and three Union Territories.

In Assam, a separate "special revision" - instead of a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) - was completed on 10 February.

The second round of the SIR was launched in November 2025. That phase covered nine states and three Union Territories with a combined electorate of around 51 crore. The second phase included Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.

Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, and West Bengal are scheduled to hold Assembly elections in 2026.