New Delhi, Sept 21: The Election Commission (EC) has instructed state election officers to be ready for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists by September 30, signaling that the nationwide exercise could start as early as October-November.
At a recent conference of state Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs), EC officials asked them to have voter lists, published after the last SIR in their states, ready for the upcoming revision. Several states have already uploaded these lists online — Delhi’s last SIR dates back to 2008, Uttarakhand to 2006, and Bihar’s 2003 roll is being used as a reference for the intensive revision. Most other states had their last SIR between 2002 and 2004 and have nearly completed mapping current electors against those lists.
The nationwide SIR will follow Bihar’s exercise and aims to cleanse voter rolls, primarily to identify and remove foreign illegal migrants by verifying their place of birth. The move gains importance amid recent crackdowns in multiple states against illegal migrants, particularly from Bangladesh and Myanmar.
The revision is also timely, as assembly elections are due in 2026 in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal, making accurate electoral rolls crucial for fair polling.
The EC’s proactive directive emphasizes preparedness and uniformity across states to ensure a smooth and thorough revision process.
