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While EC has not yet officially announced when the Special Intensive Revision will be implemented nationwide, sources say it could be rolled out simultaneously across India
Election Commission of India (PTI)
The Election Commission of India (ECI) is considering holding a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across the country after carrying out the exercise in poll-bound Bihar, sources have told News18.
Before implementing SIR in the rest of the country, the Election Commission has called a conference of Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) in Delhi on September 10. The CEOs have been asked to make PowerPoint presentations on 10 key points for the meeting:
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* Number of current electors in their State/UT
* Qualifying date of the last SIR
* Number of electors in the last SIR
* Whether the electoral rolls of the last SIR have been digitised and uploaded on the CEO’s website
* Status of mapping of current electors with the last SIR electors
* Suggested additional documents to ensure only Indian citizens are included
* Rationalization of polling stations (limiting to 1,200 voters per booth)
* Number of polling stations after rationalisation
* Status of appointment and training of DEOs, EROs, AEROs, BLOs, and BLAs
* Any other suggestions
The Chief Election Commissioner, Election Commissioners, and senior EC officials will participate in the Delhi conference.
In its June 24 order regarding Bihar, the poll body had already indicated that SIR would eventually be implemented nationwide. “Under Section 21 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, along with other applicable provisions, the Commission is empowered to direct a Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, including preparation of fresh rolls. Therefore, the Commission has now decided to begin the Special Intensive Revision across the country to fulfill its constitutional mandate to protect the integrity of electoral rolls. However, since Legislative Assembly elections are due later this year in Bihar, the Commission has decided to first conduct SIR in the State of Bihar as per the attached guidelines and schedule. The schedule for the rest of the country will be issued separately in due course,” it said.
The SIR process is already underway in Bihar and will be completed by September 30.
The exercise has seen the Opposition locking horns with the government, claiming that the BJP’s real intention behind SIR is to delete names of existing voters and add new ones in an effort to win the Bihar elections. The Congress also alleged that it flagged irregularities in the exercise but the complaints were dismissed by the EC.
The poll body, however, said: “Till date, no BLA authorised by any district president of the Indian National Congress in Bihar has submitted any claim (Form 6) or objection (Form 7) on any name in the draft electoral rolls published on August 1 in the prescribed format so far.” A total of 65 lakh voters in Bihar have been removed from the electoral rolls as part of SIR.
The commission has not yet officially announced when SIR will be implemented nationwide. However, sources in the poll body say the plan is to roll out the exercise simultaneously across the country.
September 06, 2025, 13:56 IST
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