The Election Commission (EC) will convene a conference of Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) from states and Union Territories on September 10 to review preparedness for a nationwide Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, sources told The Indian Express.
The SIR, likely to commence with January 1, 2026, as the qualifying date, follows a pilot exercise in Bihar ahead of Assembly elections. The poll panel had first announced the initiative on June 24, citing urbanisation and migration as factors causing repeated or outdated entries in the rolls.
“All CEOs have been asked to make presentations regarding the number of electors in their states and UTs, and details of the last intensive revision,” a source said. Exact timelines will be finalised once the EC issues formal orders.
The poll panel, comprising Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, is expected to meet the CEOs at the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) in Dwarka.
In its June 24 order, the EC noted, “Thus, the situation warrants an intensive verification drive to verify each person before enrolment as an elector.” Electoral rolls are revised annually, with additions and deletions made before elections, but the SIR aims to recompile the rolls afresh.
For Bihar, the EC required all electors to submit new forms along with 11 eligibility documents. Those added after 2003 were also required to provide supporting documents. “The final electoral roll of Bihar is due to be published on September 30,” officials said.
The SIR order has faced legal challenges in the Supreme Court. Petitioners have questioned the EC’s authority to verify citizenship and criticised the exclusion of commonly held documents, such as Aadhaar, ration cards, and voter ID, from the list of 11 accepted proofs.
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