NEW DELHI — The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday announced phase two of special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in 12 states and Union Territories (UTs)to be conducted between November and February, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said.
The electoral rolls of those respective provinces will be locked tonight, said the Chief Election Commissioner.
Phase two of the special intensive revision (SIR) exercise will begin on November 4 with the enumeration state and continue till December 4. EC will release the draft electoral rolls on December 9, and the final electoral rolls will be published on February 7.
The states and Union Territories where the SIR exercise will begin are: the 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. Kumar clarified that in Assam, where polls are also due in 2026, the revision of electoral rolls will be announced separately, reported PTI.
CEC Kumar said a separate provision of the Citizenship Act was applicable to Assam.
“Under the Citizenship Act, there are separate provisions for citizenship in Assam. Under the supervision of the Supreme Court, the exercise of checking citizenship is about to be completed. The June 24 SIR order was for the entire country. Under such circumstances, this would not have applied to Assam,” Kumar said.
“Phase two of SIR will cover 51 crore voters. While the enumeration process will begin on November 4, the draft rolls will be published on December 9 and final electoral rolls on February 7,” said Kumar addressing a Press conference in New Delhi.
The CEC also ruled out any confrontation with the West Bengal government, where the ruling Trinamool Congress has expressed reservations about the SIR exercise in the state.
“There is no hurdle between the Election Commission and the state government. The Commission is doing its constitutional duty by carrying out the SIR, and the state government will discharge its constitutional duties,” Kumar said.
The CEC said state governments were bound to provide the necessary personnel to the Election Commission for the preparation of electoral rolls and conduct of polls.
On the demands for putting off the SIR exercise in Kerala on account of local bodies elections, Kumar said the notification of the local bodies elections was yet to be issued. — With inputs from agency
