Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Electoral Rolls
- The Election Commission of India (ECI) has started the enumeration phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
- The exercise began on November 4, 2025.
- The Constitution and the Representation of the People Act, 1950 empower the EC to conduct both SSR and SIR.
Coverage
- It will cover 12 States and Union Territories:
- Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Puducherry, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, and Lakshadweep.
- Nearly 51 crore voters will be covered.
Upcoming Elections
- Among these, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, and Puducherry are scheduled for Assembly elections in 2026.
Previous Exercise
- The first round of the clean-up was done in Bihar earlier this year (2025), resulting in the deletion of over 68 lakh names from electoral rolls.
- It has already been done eight times between 1951 and 2004.
- The last SIR was carried out 21 years ago, during 2002–2004.
- In Tamil Nadu, the last SIR was in 2002 (for 197 constituencies) and 2005 (for the remaining 37 constituencies).
SIR 2.0 – New Features / Reforms
- Based on lessons from the Bihar exercise.
- Key directive: No documents will be collected from electors during the enumeration phase.
- Enhanced mapping of current electors to ensure accuracy.
