The Election Commission of India (ECI) initiates Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the states. SIR has already been done 8 times from 1951 till 2004. Last SIR was done more than 21 years back in 2002-2004. Objective The objective of an intensified revision is Maintaining the integrity of the Electoral Roll (ER) is fundamental for the conduct of free & fair elections To ensure that all eligible citizens are included in the ER & no eligible voter is excluded from the ER To ensure that no ineligible voter is included in the ER To eliminate names of dead/shifted/absentee voters Need Various reasons such as rapid urbanization, frequent migration, young citizens becoming eligible to vote, non-reporting of deaths and inclusion of the names of foreign illegal immigrants have necessitated the conduct of an intensive revision so as to ensure integrity and preparation of error-free electoral rolls. Article 326 of the Constitution stipulates that:every person who is a citizen of India and who is not less than 18 years of age on the qualifying date and is not otherwise disqualified under any law shall be entitled to be registered in the electoral roll. In exercise of its powers under Article 324 of the Constitution & Section 21 of the Representation of People Act 1950, the Election Commission of India directs the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Electoral Rolls of a state. Process followed Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) to print pre-filled Enumeration Form (EF) for all existing electors as on the date of the order and give it to Booth Level Officers (BLOs). BLOs to distribute EFs to all existing electors through House-to-House visit EF will be available on the ECI website which can be downloaded by an elector whose name is in the electoral roll as on the date of the order for a given state BLAs appointed by all recognised National & State political parties to be associated in the entire process BLOs to guide the public on filling up of EF CEO/DEOs/EROs/BLOs would take care that genuine electors, particularly old, sick, Persons with Disabilities (PwD), poor and other vulnerable groups are not harassed and are facilitated to the extent possible, including through deployment of volunteers. BLOs to collect EFs from the public along with required documents. Alternatively, existing elector can also upload the EF and documents online BLO Supervisor to check the BLO’s qualitative & quantitative output Draft Electoral Roll to be prepared of all electors whose EF have been received Copies of the Draft Electoral Roll to be shared with all recognised National & State political parties & also put on ECI/CEO website Claims & objections for any addition/deletion of names can be filed by any elector or by any political party AERO will inquire into any complaint on the exclusion of any eligible persons or inclusion of any ineligible persons After decision on claims & objections, the Final Electoral Roll will be published by the ERO Copies of the Final Electoral Roll to be shared with all recognised National & State political parties & also put on ECI/CEO website Under Section 24 of the Act, an appeal against the order of ERO can also be made to the District Magistrate and the second appeal to the Chief Electoral Officer. Phases of SIR Phase I - Bihar - Held during June 2025 - September 2025 Phase II - 9 States namely Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal and 3 UTs namely Andaman and Nicobar, Lakshadweep and Puducherry spanning 321 districts and 1,843 Assembly Constituencies (ACs). The duration of Phase II of SIR - November 2025 - February 2026 Phase III - 16 States and 3 Union Territories (UTs) - Odisha, Mizoram, Sikkim, Manipur, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh, Telangana, Punjab, Karnataka, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Delhi, Nagaland and Tripura. The duration of Phase III of SIR spans from July 2026 - December 2026. Revised schedule for Andhra Pradesh and Haryana - House-to-house visits by Booth Level Officers (BLO), known as the Enumeration Phase, will continue till July 24 (earlier deadline was July 14). The draft rolls in the two States were earlier scheduled to be published on July 21. Now, they will be published on July 31. The final list of these two States will now be published on October 3, a week later than originally scheduled. Revised schedule for Karnataka, Delhi, Telangana, and Punjab - timeline extended by around 10-12 days. Karnataka - House-to-house enumeration phase, which started on June 30, will now end on August 8 instead of July 29. The rationalisation and re-arrangement of polling stations will also be held on August 8. The draft electoral rolls will be published on August 17 instead of August 8, and the final voter list will be published on September 18 instead of September 7. Telangana and Punjab - the enumeration phase has been extended to August 3 from July 24. The draft rolls will be published on August 10 as against July 31, and the final list will come out on October 12 instead of October 1. Delhi - The final voters’ list will now be published on October 19 and draft electoral rolls will come out on August 17 instead of August 5. The house-to-house visits which were scheduled till July 29 will now continue till August 8. Source : Election Commission of India