Key Points
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has launched the second phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR)
SIR Phase 2 updated voter rolls across 12 states, removing duplicates and verifying citizenship.
Despite the ECI’s claim of success in Bihar’s, opposition leaders and experts have flagged discrepancies in the final electoral roll.
The second phase of the nationwide Special Intensive Revision (SIR) began on Monday, 27 October 2025, and is set to cover 12 states and Union territories. This follows a trial SIR exercise conducted in Bihar prior to the 2025 Assembly Elections. The Election Commission of India (ECI) referred to the operation a success, though critics and opposition leaders have hit out against it.
The upcoming phase of the exercise is to cover the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. will span 51 crore voters and require 5.33 lakh Booth Level Officers (BLOs).
So, what is it?
See Also: Special Intensive Revision: ECI Notifies Second Phase of Nationwide SIR, to Cover 12 States and UTs
The Special Intensive Revision is an exercise undertaken by the Election Commission of India for revision and verification of electoral rolls. The stated objective of the drive is to clean up and update voter lists – to ensure all eligible voters are included in the list, no ineligible names are included, no entries are duplicated, and all details are up to date.
Section 21 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, empowers the ECI to undertake such an exercise whenever it deems necessary. Unlike annual summary revisions, which take existing electoral rolls as a basis for verification and making updates, this exercise is a lot more intensive, as the name suggests.
It is a comprehensive voter verification drive undertaken from the ground up – meaning it requires manual verification of each and every eligible voter based on a notified cutoff date. It does not rely on earlier voter lists, but the roll published after the last SIR may be used in the verification process.
The last Special Intensive Revision was undertaken from 2002-04. This will be only the 9th such exercise since Independence. The stated reason for the operation is an over-accumulation of duplicate entries and foreign nationals across electoral rolls nationwide. Three states and one UT under the ambit of the exercise – West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Puducherry – are to go to polls in 2026.
BLOs are trained on how to undertake the exercise.
Voters are required to fill enumeration forms. This is mandatory for all electors, even those with EPIC cards and those who have voted in the past. This can be done online or in-person.
At the same time, BLOs will perform house-to-house verification for each voter. Names and details of the voters will be matched against the last SIR roll from the state. If the voter’s name is not present in the earlier list, further verification will be needed. This can be done either by matching details with the voter’s parents from the last list, or through documents submitted by the voter to prove their identity and residence.
Based on the data collected from the previous step, BLOs will combine all the relevant data and publish a tentative voter list.
Voters are to check the draft roll for their names and can file appeals for inclusion in the list if they have been excluded, correction of details if there are any discrepancies, and exclusion of duplicate names and deceased voters.
If a voter’s name was not included in the previous SIR roll, an Electoral Registration Officer will reach out asking for verification documents. All appeals will also be processed, and the draft roll will be updated.
The final list is published.
The ECI has published an indicative, non-exhaustive list of documents that can used as proof of identity, residence, and citizenship.
1. Any identity cards/pension payment order issued to regular employee/pensioner of any Central Government/State Government/PSU.
2. Any identity cards/ certificate/documents issued by Indian Government/Banks/local authorities/PSUs/post office/LIC prior to 01.07.1987.
3. Birth certificate issued by the competent authority.
4. Passport.
5. Matriculation/Educational certificate issued by recognised Boards/Universities.
6. Permanent resident certificate issued by the competent State authority.
7. Forest Rights Certificate.
8. OBC/ST/SC or any caste certificate issued by the competent authority.
9. National Register of Citizens (wherever it exists).
10. Family register prepared by State/Local authorities
11. Any land/house allotment certificate by Government.
12. Extract of the electoral roll of Bihar SIR with reference to 01.07.2025.
13. For Aadhaar, Commission’s directions issued vide letter No. 23/2025-ERS/Vol.II dated 9.09.2025 shall apply (only as a proof of identity and not citizenship).
It is worth noting that though Aadhaar was not initially accepted by the ECI, this was amended by order of the Supreme Court. However, Aadhaar still does not count as proof of citizenship.
Additionally, those born before 1 July 1987 are required to prove their date and/or place of birth using the above documents. Those born between 1 July 1987 and 2 December 2004 must provide a document for themselves and one parent. Those born after 2 December 2004 need to submit documents for themselves and both parents.
Though the ECI said that the SIR in Bihar was completed with ‘no appeals’, opposition leaders, critics, and experts have pointed out discrepancies in the final electoral roll published. They have highlighted large-scale instances of duplicate voters, cases of wrongful deletions, and the ECI’s lack of transparency in addressing these inconsistencies. [Rh]
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