ECI revises electoral roll verification schedule for four more states

THe Election direction of bharat (ECI) on wed revised the time-table for the on-going Special Intensive revise (SIR) of electoral rolls in Karnataka, Telangana, Punjab and the National Capital Territory of Delhi, giving Booth Level Officers (BLOs) additional time to complete door-to-door verification while broadly keeping the overall revision exercise on track.The move comes a day after the Commission announced similar changes for Andhra Pradesh and Haryana, indicating that it is accommodating requests from states for more time to complete field verification before the preparation of updated electoral rolls.According to separate communications issued to the chief electoral officers of the four states, the Commission approved revised schedules following requests from the respective state election machinery. The exercise is being carried out with October 1, 2026, as the qualifying date in Karnataka, Telangana and Punjab, while Delhi’s revision continues with July 1, 2026, as the qualifying date.For Karnataka and Delhi, the period for house-to-house verification has been extended until August 8. Polling station rationalisation will also be completed on the same day, while the draft electoral rolls are scheduled to be published on August 17. Electors will be able to file claims and objections until September 16, after which election officials will scrutinise and dispose of the applications before the final electoral rolls are published on October 19.In Telangana, BLOs will now continue field verification until August 3. The draft electoral roll will be released on August 10, followed by a month-long period ending September 9 for citizens to submit claims and objections. The Commission has fixed October 12 for publication of the final electoral roll after completing disposal of all applications by October 8.Also Read:New voters must provide parents’ SIR details to get on electoral rolls: Election CommissionPunjab has also been granted additional time for the verification exercise, which will now continue until August 3. The draft roll will be published on August 13, while objections and claims can be filed until September 12. The final electoral roll is slated for publication on October 12 after all pending claims are decided by October 8.The revised timelines replace the original Phase III calendar under which Telangana and Punjab were to publish draft rolls on July 31, while Karnataka and Delhi were scheduled to do so on August 5.The Commission has, however, chosen to preserve the overall sequence of the revision process by adjusting intermediate stages rather than postponing the completion of the exercise.The nationwide SIR is being implemented in phases across states and Union Territories to update electoral rolls through extensive field verification. Under the process, BLOs visit households to verify voter details, after which draft rolls are published inviting claims and objections from the public before the rolls are finalised.Phase III covers 19 states and Union Territories, including Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Meghalaya, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Nagaland and Tripura, apart from the states whose schedules have now been revised.With Wednesday’s decision, six states have received revised SIR schedules within two days. Election officials said the changes are intended to provide adequate time for field-level verification without disrupting the broader electoral roll revision programme ahead of future elections.