EC to roll out SIR in 22 states, UTs in April; 40 cr voters to be covered

New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday directed 22 states and Union Territories, including Delhi, to expedite preparatory work for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, as the next phase of the exercise is slated to begin in April.

With this phase, the poll body aims to extend the SIR across all remaining states and UTs, completing the nationwide revision process.

In a communication addressed to the chief electoral officers of 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 Commission noted that a pan-India SIR of electoral rolls had been ordered in June last year.

Facing allegations of “vote chori” from the opposition Congress, the EC has already conducted SIR in 13 states and UTs and carried out a ‘special revision’ in Assam earlier this year. It now plans to undertake the exercise in the remaining 22 states and UTs during the current year.

While the SIR process has been completed in Bihar, it remains underway in 12 states and UTs, covering nearly 60 crore electors. The remaining 40 crore voters will be covered in the 17 states and five UTs included in the upcoming phase.

In Assam, a ‘special revision’—distinct from SIR—was concluded on February 10, reported PTI.

The SIR process in nine states and three UTs has seen multiple schedule changes due to various reasons. Similar to Bihar, political parties have approached the Supreme Court challenging the SIR exercise in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. Recently, Trinamool Congress president and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee personally appealed before a bench headed by the Chief Justice of India against the voter roll revision drive in her state.

During preparations for SIR in Bihar, EC officials had stated that field-level officers had identified individuals from Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar. However, the Commission did not subsequently release figures or evidence regarding persons allegedly ineligible to be on the electoral rolls.

Opposition parties have criticised the exercise, alleging that the SIR is being used to target voters perceived as not aligned with the BJP and its allies.