Second phase of SIR begins across 12 states, UTs today amid controversy

New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has launched the second phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), a nationwide voters’ list clean-up drive, across nine states and three Union Territories (UTs) from Tuesday.

The large-scale electoral roll revision, claiming to ensure greater accuracy, transparency, and legitimacy in the country’s voter database ahead of upcoming elections, has mired in controversy.

The SIR 2.0 exercise comes just two days before the first phase of the Bihar Assembly polls, where a similar revision was recently carried out.

During that exercise, over 68 lakh names were deleted from Bihar’s electoral rolls after verification, as part of the Commission’s effort to remove duplicate, shifted, or deceased voters.

This phase of SIR will cover nearly 51 crore voters across Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Lakshadweep. Notably, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, and Puducherry are among the states scheduled to hold Assembly elections in 2026.

Under the new schedule, the enumeration process begins today and will continue till December 4, following which the draft electoral rolls will be released on December 9.

Citizens will have the opportunity to file claims and objections between December 9 and January 8, 2026, while hearings and verifications are slated to be completed by January 31, 2026. The final electoral rolls will be published on February 7, 2026.

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, in an earlier briefing in October, lauded the efforts of polling officials and voters in Bihar for the successful completion of the first phase. He emphasised that the SIR, often termed a “purification drive,” is crucial to maintaining the integrity of electoral rolls.

The CEC noted that since Independence, India has conducted eight SIR exercises between 1951 and 2004, with the last one taking place more than two decades ago. Political parties have consistently urged the Commission to undertake such verifications periodically to ensure that only genuine voters participate in the democratic process.

Explaining the procedure, the CEC said enumeration forms will be printed and distributed in all participating states and UTs. Once the process begins, the voters’ lists in those regions will be frozen to facilitate accurate updating and verification.

IANS with edits