Nationwide Special Intensive Revision: ECI Takes Progress Report From States/UTs, Gives Green Light for Launch

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The Election Commission of India (ECI) held a conference on Wednesday, 10 September 2025 to assess preparedness for a nationwide Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Gyanesh Kumar, inaugurated the third Conference of Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) this year at India International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Management (IIIDEM) in New Delhi. Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi presided over the event with CEOs from all States and Union Territories in attendance.

At the day-long meeting, the ECI delivered directives to State Election Commissions to ensure efficiency in the SIR process, while CEOs presented details of metrics relevant to the revision process along with progress reports on procedures in place. The CEO of Bihar gave a detailed presentation on “strategies, constraints and best practices adopted” by the state commission while undertaking the SIR, as a reference for other states/UTs. The ECI accented on the progress made so far.

The undertaking is expected to launch in October, with preparations already in place, according to the ECI. The rollout is being fast-tracked before Assembly Elections scheduled for April-May next year across Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.

See Also: ECI has Lost Credibility, Says Tejashwi Yadav at Voter Adhikar Yatra in Patna

Earlier, on 24 June 2025, the ECI had given an order announcing the nationwide SIR, along with detailed instructions for state commissions to ensure uniform implementation. At the conference, progress made by each commission was measured in comparison to this rubric.

The ECI reviewed the status of rationalisation of polling booths, and appointment and training of appropriate staff in each assembly. In addition, CEOs presented the number of electors in their assemblies, along with the qualifying date for the new roll based on the last SIR. They also updated the EC on the progress of digitisation and uploading of the previous electoral roll based on the last SIR to the relevant websites for ease of reference.

An important update given by the CEOs was the status of mapping of current electors with the electors as per the last SIR. This process is relevant to the efficiency of the initiative and simplicity for voters.

Under the current SIR guidelines, all electors have to submit enumeration forms to be included in the next electoral roll. All electors added after the cutoff date of the last SIR have to provide proof of citizenship, while those born after July 1, 1987 have to file documents of their parents as well, in line with the Citizenship Act, 1965. The commission specified that electors who met the cut off date of the last SIR would not need to provide any additional documentation.

In a previous press release, the ECI highlighted that nearly 4.96 crore out of 7.24 crore voters in Bihar were identified from the electoral roll made following the 2003 SIR. This means, nearly 60% of electors in the state did not need to provide additional proof of eligibility.

In his presentation, Bihar CEO Vinod Singh Gunjiyal highlighted how voters were directly identified on the 2003 roll through photo matching, while children and relatives of those voters were identified indirectly through ‘parivarik suchi’ or family tree method.

The ECI, reiterating its focus of simplifying the verification process for voters, asked CEOs to suggest additional documents that should be accepted on a state by state basis “for the purpose of ensuring that no eligible citizen is left out of the Electoral Roll and no ineligible person is included in it.” Some states suggested Aadhaar and EPIC cards, which were earlier discounted by the ECI, while others like Assam suggested state-specific identity cards and more flexible parameters of proof in areas with high tribal populations.

Earlier this week, the ECI was pulled up by the Supreme Court following objections by Opposition parties and independent investigators against widespread exclusions and inaccuracies in the updated voter list. A bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi directed: “Aadhaar shall be treated by the Election Commission of India as the 12th document.”

Some states, like West Bengal, also requested the initiative be postponed in lieu of the upcoming festive season, but the ECI informed Calcutta HC on the same day that preparations for a SIR in the state are underway with formal guidelines to be issued soon. [Rh/DS]

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