SIR’s last phase to start after poll results

NEw new delhi: The Election charge of bharat (ECI) testament undulate out the third and final phase of the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the remaining 17 states and five Union territories after the results of upcoming five assembly elections are declared on May 4, a senior poll panel official said.So far, SIR has been carried out in 10 states and three UTs in two phases, while a special revision of electoral rolls was carried out in Assam. Four states — West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Assam — and the UT of Puducherry are headed to assembly polls on different dates this month, and the results of all five elections will be announced on May 4.In a February 19 communication, ECI secretary Pawan Dewan directed chief electoral officers (CEOs) of the remaining 22 states and UTs, including Delhi, to complete preparatory SIR-related work activities at the earliest, indicating the exercise was “expected to start from April,” the senior official cited above said, declining to be named.“The process will now begin only after the declaration of results on May 4, as the Commission wants to ensure full administrative focus and manpower deployment is directed towards the ongoing five-state elections before committing resources to the next phase of the nationwide revision exercise,” the official said.The upcoming phase of SIR will be held in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Ladakh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Delhi, Odisha, Punjab, Sikkim, Tripura, Telangana and Uttarakhand.The third and final phase will cover approximately 370 million electors, accounting for nearly 38% of India’s total electorate of 977.9 million recorded during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Once the exercise is completed, the SIR exercise will achieve full national coverage. “Preparations have been completed at multiple levels to ensure uniform implementation across states,” the senior official said.The SIR, first launched in Bihar in June 2025, was expanded nationwide on October 27, 2025, covering 12 more states and UTs in the second phase. Barring Uttar Pradesh, final electoral rolls have been published in all places where SIR was carried out. Officials said Uttar Pradesh’s final roll is expected to be published on April 10. According to ECI officials, nearly 600 million electors have already been covered under the SIR process so far.Among the states where the controversial SIR exercise has been completed, West Bengal recorded the highest single-state deletion, with around 9.1 million names being removed from the electoral rolls, followed by Tamil Nadu with 7.4 million deletions, and Gujarat with 6.8 million deletions. Bihar, where SIR exercise was conducted in the first phase, saw 4.7 million names being removed in the final roll.Uttar Pradesh — where the draft roll showed a reduction of 28.9 million names, the single largest draft deletion in any state — is yet to publish its final roll.“This is the most comprehensive electoral roll revision since 2002,” the official cited above said. “The objective is to ensure that electoral rolls remain accurate, free from duplication, and reflective of genuine electors through field verification and statutory processes.”