ECI: The second phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) campaign, a countrywide effort to clean up voter lists, was started by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday in nine states and three Union Territories (UTs).
Ahead of the next elections, the extensive electoral register modification seeks to guarantee increased legitimacy, accuracy, and openness in the nation’s voter database.
Two days before the first round of the Bihar Assembly elections, where a comparable revision was previously conducted, the SIR 2.0 procedure is taking place.
As part of the Commission’s attempt to eliminate duplicate, relocated, or dead voters, more than 68 lakh names were removed from Bihar’s electoral records after verification during that process.
In Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Puducherry, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, and Lakshadweep, about 51 crore voters would be covered by this SIR phase. Notably, states with assembly elections planned for 2026 include Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, and Puducherry.
According to the revised timeline, the enumeration procedure will start today and go until December 4. On December 9, the draft electoral rolls will be made public.
While hearings and verifications are scheduled to be finished by January 31, 2026, citizens will have the chance to submit claims and objections between December 9 and January 8, 2026. On February 7, 2026, the final electoral rolls will be released.
In a previous October briefing, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar praised the work of Bihar’s voters and poll workers for the first phase’s successful conclusion. He emphasized how important the SIR—often referred to as a “purification drive”—is to preserving the accuracy of election records.
According to the CEC, India has carried out eight SIR exercises since gaining its independence, from 1951 to 2004, the most recent of which was held more than 20 years ago. To guarantee that only legitimate voters take part in the democratic process, political parties have repeatedly encouraged the Commission to conduct such verifications on a regular basis.
Enumeration forms will be prepared and distributed in all participating states and UTs, the CEC said, outlining the process. To enable precise updating and verification, the voter lists in certain areas will be locked once the procedure starts.
