ECI Gears Up for Third Phase of Voter List Overhaul; 22 States, UTs Told to Prepare for April Rollout
By Tajdar H Zaidi
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has directed poll authorities in 22 States and Union Territories to complete groundwork for the next round of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which is likely to commence in April 2026.
In a communication sent to Chief Electoral Officers, the Commission instructed officials to expedite preparatory measures, signalling that the third phase of the large-scale voter list verification drive could begin soon after the financial year closes.
States and UTs in Focus
The upcoming phase will cover Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Ladakh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Delhi, Odisha, Punjab, Sikkim, Tripura, Telangana and Uttarakhand.
Officials have been asked to undertake tasks such as mapping existing electoral data with rolls prepared during the 2002–2004 revision — the last time a full SIR was carried out — and training booth-level officers (BLOs) to conduct door-to-door verification and updates.
Phased Rollout So Far
Bihar became the first state to undergo the SIR exercise last year ahead of its Assembly polls. Subsequently, in October 2025, the ECI initiated the second phase in 12 States and Union Territories
Territories, including Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
The ongoing process in these regions has required several deadline extensions, with Uttar Pradesh receiving the maximum additional time to complete verification work.
In Assam, however, a special revision was undertaken instead of the SIR owing to legal complexities linked to the incomplete National Register of Citizens (NRC) process.
Census Exercise Adds Complexity
The Commission’s planning also coincides with preparations for the Population Census 2027. The first stage of the Census — the house listing operation — is scheduled to begin on April 1, 2026.
Nearly 30 lakh enumerators, largely drawn from government school teachers, are expected to be deployed for the Census.
This overlap poses logistical challenges because booth-level officers responsible for SIR door-to-door enumeration are also primarily drawn from the same pool of teachers.
Sources indicated that the ECI has been coordinating with the Registrar General of India and the Census Commissioner to ensure that administrative resources are deployed in a staggered manner, preventing disruption to either exercise.
With voter list accuracy crucial ahead of future elections and the Census being a constitutionally mandated exercise, the coming months will test coordination between electoral and demographic authorities across the country.
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