Ahead of pan-India SIR, Election Commission tracks voter mapping progress

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday (October 22, 2025) reviewed the progress made in mapping current electors with those present on the electoral rolls prepared after the previous special intensive revision (SIR) carried out in most States between 2002 and 2004.

The mapping exercise involves standardising addresses and correcting discrepancies through house-to-house visits by booth-level officers (BLO). It is being carried out in various States ahead of the roll-out of the SIR across India.

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“BLOs would already have this list (voters in last SIR). This would ensure that around 60%-70% voters would already be covered by the time the SIR process begins”, a senior EC official told The Hindu.

The Election Commission top brass met the Chief Electoral Officers of all States during a two-day conference in the national capital. The meeting was presided over by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in the presence of Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.

The meeting is being held as a follow-up to the SIR preparedness conference held on September 10, during which all States and Union Territories gave detailed presentations on the number of electors, qualifying date of last SIR, and electoral roll in their respective States and Union Territories as per the last completed SIR.

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While the commission had announced a countrywide SIR on June 24, along with the Bihar SIR, a specific roll-out is expected to be announced following the conclusion of the current assessment meeting.

Sources said the poll body might opt for the SIR to be held in phases, beginning with States where Assembly election is due next year. Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal will go to the polls in 2026.

The commission is also unlikely to go ahead with the SIR in States where local body elections are taking place or are due as the grassroots poll machinery would be busy.

In Bihar, the voters’ list was created “de-novo” after the SIR. The SIR order mandated that all voters had to submit fresh enumeration forms to be included in the draft roll. All those who had been added to the rolls after 2003, when the last intensive revision was done in Bihar, were asked to submit documents proving their date and/or place of birth to establish eligibility, while those born after July 1, 1987, were required to submit documents of their parents as well in order to prove their citizenship.

In Bihar, more than 68 lakh names were deleted from the rolls after the SIR, mostly due to reasons such as death, duplication, and migration.

The SIR process has been challenged in the Supreme Court. The court, while not questioning the ECI’s mandate to conduct the SIR, had asked the poll body to include Aadhaar as the 12th document.

ECI sources said the indicative list of documents required for the countrywide SIR is likely to remain the same as in Bihar, with Aadhaar being considered as a proof of identity only.