The move follows a voter list cleanup in Bihar, conducted ahead of the Assembly elections.
New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) is expected to announce a nationwide Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the first week of November, beginning in phases with states heading for elections in 2026 and select others, media reports said
This week, the poll panel held a meeting with chief electoral officers (CEOs) to review preparations for the exercise, signalling that the official announcement could come in the next few days. A notification for the nationwide SIR in most states and union territories could be issued shortly, with the timeline and framework expected to be finalized next week.
The process may be completed in two phases: one for general states and another for high-altitude and geographically challenging regions such as Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and parts of the Northeast, where heavy snowfall and extreme cold in the coming months could affect field operations.
The priority list includes electoral states like West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Puducherry. According to EC sources, a standard three-month period will be given to complete the entire process, from submitting forms, issuing draft lists, filing claims and objections, to appeals, culminating in the publication of the final voter rolls, expected by the first or at the latest the second week of February next year.
