New Delhi: The Election Commission on Sunday extended by one week the entire schedule of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in nine states and three Union Territories, amid opposition allegations that “tight timelines” were causing difficulties for voters and ground-level poll officials.
In a statement, the poll authority said the enumeration form distribution will now continue until December 11 instead of December 4. The draft electoral rolls will be published on December 16, replacing the earlier date of December 9, while the final voters’ list will be released on February 14, 2026, instead of February 7.
Officials said the decision to extend the timeline for all phases of the SIR was based on internal discussions with the chief electoral officers of the states and Union Territories where the exercise is underway.
Opposition parties have alleged that at least 40 booth-level officers (BLOs) have died, largely by suicides due to the “stress of meeting tight deadlines,” questioning the timing of the voters’ list revision. The EC, however, dismissed these charges, stating that the exercise is proceeding smoothly.
Reacting to the EC’s decision, Congress leader Pramod Tiwari said it indicates that the poll panel recognised the original timelines were not “practical.”
The revision of the SIR schedule comes on the eve of the Winter Session of Parliament, which begins Monday. The last session was largely unproductive due to opposition demands for a debate on the SIR exercise, particularly in Bihar. Opposition leaders, after an all-party meeting on ensuring smooth parliamentary functioning, said they will continue to press for a debate on SIR.
The EC had announced the SIR in these states and UTs on October 27. The massive voters’ list cleanup will cover nearly 51 crore electors. The states and Union Territories involved are Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.
Among these, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, and West Bengal will go to the polls in 2026. In Assam, where elections are also due in 2026, the revision of electoral rolls was announced separately under the “Special Revision” exercise.
Most states last conducted the SIR between 2002 and 2004, and the current exercise nearly completes the mapping of electors according to the previous SIR.
The primary aim of the SIR is to identify and remove foreign illegal migrants by verifying their place of birth. The exercise gains significance amid ongoing crackdowns on illegal migrants, including those from Bangladesh and Myanmar, in various states.
With PTI inputs