Second Phase of Special Intensive Revision to Begin in 12 States and Union Territories from November 4
New Delhi, October 27 The Election Commission has announced that the second phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls will commence in 12 states and union territories from November 4, with the final voter list scheduled for publication in February next year. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar stated that this phase follows the successful completion of the exercise in Bihar.
As per agency report, the second phase will cover Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Lakshadweep. Of these, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, and West Bengal are expected to go to polls in 2026. Kumar clarified that a separate announcement would be made for Assam, which is also expected to hold assembly elections next year.
The process will begin with house-to-house verification from November 4 and continue till December 4. The draft electoral roll will be published on December 9, and the final list will be released on February 7, 2026. The Chief Election Commissioner explained that Assam will not be part of the current schedule since the state is governed by separate provisions under the Citizenship Act, and the citizenship verification process there is nearing completion under Supreme Court supervision. Therefore, a separate order and date will be issued for Assam’s SIR.
Kumar noted that this is the ninth such nationwide revision since independence, with the last one conducted between 2002 and 2004. He said the exercise in Bihar was completed successfully without any appeals, marking it as a significant achievement.
He explained that the SIR aims to ensure that no eligible voter is left out of the list and no ineligible person remains included. The second phase will cover around 510 million voters. The process will begin on November 4, the draft roll will be published on December 9, and the final list on February 7.
Addressing concerns raised by the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, Kumar said there was no confrontation between the Election Commission and the state government. He stated that both institutions are performing their respective constitutional duties, and state governments are legally bound to provide the necessary personnel for the preparation of electoral rolls and the conduct of elections.
Regarding Kerala’s request to defer the SIR due to upcoming local body elections, Kumar clarified that no notification for the local polls had been issued yet.
In Bihar, the voter list revision has already been completed, covering about 74.2 million voters, with the final roll published on September 30. Polling in Bihar will be conducted in two phases on November 6 and 11, with counting on November 14.
The Election Commission has already held two rounds of meetings with Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) from various states to finalize the SIR framework. Several states have uploaded their previous SIR voter lists on official websites. For instance, Delhi’s CEO website displays the 2008 voter roll, when the last intensive revision was conducted, while Uttarakhand’s website hosts the 2006 list.
The final SIR in each state will serve as a reference base similar to the 2003 list used in Bihar for deep revision. In most states, the last SIR was conducted between 2002 and 2004, and the mapping of current voters against those rolls is nearly complete.
The primary objective of the SIR is to identify and remove ineligible names, including illegal foreign migrants, from the electoral rolls. The move is particularly significant in light of concerns regarding unauthorized migrants from countries such as Bangladesh and Myanmar.
