Nationwide Special Intensive Revision Announced in 12 States

Nationwide Special Intensive Revision Announced in 12 States

Why in News?

The Election Commission of India has announced a special nationwide intensive revision of electoral rolls across 12 states and Union Territories, beginning from 4th November 2025.

Highlights of Intensive Revision Drive 2025

• States: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has launched the second phase of its Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in 12 states and Union Territories, namely Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. The list notably includes states because of the high percentage of mapped electors and states due for assembly elections in 2026, adding urgency to the exercise.

• Number of Voters: The drive covers an estimated 51 crore (510 million) electors across the selected states and UTs. It is one of the largest efforts of its kind, attempting to verify eligibility, rectify records, and remove duplications or ineligible entries on a massive scale.

• Schedule: The preparation phase — printing and training of officials will begin in late October. 

• The enumeration or house-to-house phase starts from 4 November 2025 and continues till 4 December 2025.

• A draft electoral roll will then be published on 9 December 2025.

• The claims and objections window runs from 9 December 2025 to 8 January 2026, followed by hearing and verification till end January.

• The final revised electoral rolls are scheduled to be officially published on 7 February 2026, using 1 January 2026 as the qualifying date for eligibility.

• Operational Mechanism: For each polling booth, a designated Booth Level Officer (BLO) will visit households, distribute a unique enumeration form, and verify existing voter details. If a voter’s entry was present in the last intensive revision (circa 2002-04), they won’t need to submit elaborate additional documents. 

• However, electors who cannot link themselves (or through their parents) to the previous roll will be required to submit identity and eligibility documents. A set of 13 types of documents with Aadhaar valid only as identity proof, has been approved for this purpose.

• • The voter lists in the participating states/UTs are being “frozen” at the start of the process so that no new registrations or deletions can be effected until the revision is completed.

Objectives of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) 2025

• To Ensure Accuracy in Voter Records: The main objective of the Special Intensive Revision is to make sure every detail in the electoral roll is accurate and updated. The Election Commission of India wants to remove all spelling mistakes, address errors, and outdated information. The revision helps maintain a clean and verified voter list ahead of future elections.

• To Remove Duplicate Entries: The SIR aims to identify and delete duplicate, migrated, and deceased voters from the electoral rolls. Over time, the list gathers several duplicate entries due to frequent movement of citizens and multiple registrations. This will reduce fraud and increase voter confidence during elections.

• To Include All Eligible Citizens: A key purpose of the revision is to include every eligible citizen who has turned 18 years old on or before January 1, 2026. The Election Commission wants to ensure that no eligible voter is left out. Young citizens, students, and newly eligible residents will be given special focus.

• To Strengthen Transparency: The Election Commission seeks to build public confidence in the electoral process through this revision. Transparency is ensured by publishing draft rolls, allowing citizens to file claims and objections. The Commission also encourages political parties and civil society groups to monitor the exercise to make the voter list more transparent and trustworthy.

Background of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in India

• The system of revising electoral rolls in India began after the enactment of government laws and the Election Commission of India (ECI) was given the constitutional duty to supervise the preparation and maintenance of electoral rolls. 
• The first comprehensive roll was prepared for the 1951 general elections, which marked the beginning of India’s electoral democracy. Since then, electoral rolls have been revised periodically through summary and intensive revisions to maintain their accuracy and inclusiveness.
• In 1988, the Constitution (Sixty-first Amendment) Act reduced the minimum voting age from 21 years to 18 years. This amendment created the need for a large-scale update of voter rolls to include millions of newly eligible citizens. The ECI launched intensive revisions across states to add these young voters.
• SIRs were conducted in 1952–56, 1957, 1961, 1965, 1966, 1983–84, 1987–89, 1992, 1993, 1995, 2002, 2003, and 2004 in various parts of the country.
• Recently, special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar began under the direction of the Election Commission of India (ECI) with an order dated 24 June 2025. As on 24 June 2025, Bihar’s registered electoral roll stood at 7,89,69,844 electors. 
  • In the first phase the ECI reported that about 65 lakh electors were to be excluded from the draft list: 22 lakh deceased, 36 lakh permanently shifted/untraceable, and 7 lakh duplicate registration.