The Election Commission will announce the dates for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls at 4:15 pm today, in a briefing expected to be led by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Officials indicated the first phase is likely to span 10–15 states, with a focus on those heading for Assembly elections in 2026.
Sources have suggested the initial rollout could begin as early as November 1 and include Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry, while states with ongoing local body polls may be deferred to subsequent phases. The SIR differs from routine summary revisions by rebuilding rolls afresh and requiring new enumeration from all registered voters.
Recently, the Commission held two rounds of consultations with state Chief Electoral Officers to lock SIR logistics and streamline verification, drawing lessons from Bihar’s four-month exercise concluded on September 30. Many states host historical voter lists online from past intensive revisions to aid cross-verification and de-duplication efforts.
Officials have framed the SIR as a clean-up to address two decades of additions, deletions and migration-driven duplications, with a sharper emphasis on accurate place-of-birth verification. The exercise also intersects with ongoing enforcement drives against undocumented foreign nationals in multiple states, raising the salience of robust roll hygiene ahead of 2026 polls.
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