Special Intensive Revision
Process of reorganizing electoral voter rolls in India
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Special Intensive Revision or the SIR is an exercise undertaken by the Election Commission of India to verify and revise electoral rolls through house to house enumeration, pre-filled forms, and verification of old voter data.[1]
_of_India,_Shri_Gyanesh_Kumar_addressing_a_Press_Conference_by_Election_Commission_of_India_at_Vigyan_Bhawan,_in_New_Delhi_on_October_27,_2025_(1).jpg)
| SIR | |
CEC Gyanesh Kumar announcing the nationwide SIR process (October 2025) | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1952 (first intensive revision) |
| Type | Electoral roll revision programme |
| Jurisdiction | Government of India |
| Status | Active |
| Headquarters | New Delhi |
| Agency executive |
|
| Parent agency | Election Commission of India Government of India |
| Website | eci |
The SIR aims to ensure that electoral rolls across India are accurate, by eliminating the names of deceased, permanently shifted, duplicate & non-citizen voters, while ensuring that eligible citizens are not left out.[2][1] The nationwide SIR process was announced on 27 October 2025 by the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar from Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.[3][4][5]
History
Article 324 of Constitution of India and Section 21 (3) of Representation of the People Act, 1950, ECI has the power to revise the electoral rolls across the country in any state without prior permission from any authority.[6] ECI has conducted routine summary & intensive revisions, which were done annually until 1966, and then before each general election & bye-election following an amendment, as a measure to save resources. Intensive revisions were usually multi-year exercises covering most of India, these involved creation of a new electoral roll without reference to a past electoral roll based on house to house visits by enumerators. Meanwhile, summary revisions involved updating the electoral roll without any house to house enumeration.[7]
However, starting in 2002, ECI decided to conduct a "special revision of intensive nature" where unlike a regular intensive revision, enumerators in addition to details of existing voters also had the ability to correct their details & add any new eligible voters, with this process continuing till 2004.[7]
Electoral roll revision in 2025
In 2025, the ECI planned a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections in West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry. The Commission cited concerns that several voters in West Bengal, Assam and Tripura were illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh who had obtained voter identity cards using dual documents. Political parties including the Indian National Congress, All India Trinamool Congress, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Samajwadi Party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Rashtriya Janata Dal opposed the exercise, alleging that the ECI was favouring Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of upcoming Assembly elections in different states.[8][9] Following the demand from the opposition, the Modi government had agreed to hold a parliamentary debate on the disputed Special Intensive matter in winter session of the parliament.[10] Senior Congress MP Shashi Tharoor supported the SIR process nationwide, praising both ECI as well as the government for such move.[11]
On 4 November 2025, ECI formally launched Phase-II of SIR across 9 states and 3 union territories. The exercise covers about 51 crore electors across 321 districts and 1,843 Assembly constituencies.[12]
Special Intensive Revision (SIR) phases
Phase I
The first phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) was undertaken as an initial rollout in select States, with Bihar being the primary example. The exercise was conducted between June and September 2025. According to reports, approximately 47 lakh (4.7 million) electors were removed from the electoral rolls in the State following verification, representing around 5–6% of the total electorate.
| Total Voters | Revised Voters | Reduction (%) | States Covered | U/T Covered | Starting Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | — | Limited (e.g. Bihar) | — | June 2025 | September 2025 |
State-wise Statistics[14]
| State | Total Voters | Revised Voters | Voters deleted (absolute) | Deletion (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bihar | 7.89 crore |  7.42 crore | 47 lakh | 5.95% |
Phase II
The second phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) was started on 27 October 2025, covered nine States and three Union Territories, including Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, among others. The exercise resulted in a reduction of approximately 10.2% in the total number of electors, bringing the count down from over 50.99 crore to 45.81 crore. In absolute terms, Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest net deletion of 2.04 crore voters, followed by West Bengal with 83.86 lakh. In percentage terms, Andaman and Nicobar Islands recorded the highest deletion at 16.6%, while Lakshadweep recorded the lowest deletion at 0.3% (181 voters).[15]
As per the Election Commission of India, a total of approximately 91 lakh Voters (Not in absolute terms) electors were removed from the electoral rolls in West Bengal since October 2025, while around 2.04 crore(Not in absolute terms) names were deleted in Uttar Pradesh following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process conducted between October 2025 to April 2026.[16][17]
| Total Voters | Revised Voters(Absolute Numbers) | Reduction (in%) | States Covered | U/T Covered | Starting Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50.99 crore | 45.81 crore |
10.2% | 9 | 3 | 27 October,2025 | 04 December,2025 |
State-wise statistics
| State/UT | Total Voters
(before draft list) |
Revised
Voters (final roll) |
Voters deleted (absolute\net) | Change(%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uttar Pradesh[19] | 15.44 crore | 13.39 crore |
~2.05 crore | -13.21% |
| West Bengal | 7.69 crore | 6.86 crore |
-83.86 Lakh[20] [a] | -10.9% |
| Gujarat[21] | 5.08 crore | 4.40crore |
-68 Lakh | -14.5% |
| Madhya Pradesh[22] | 5.74 crore | 5.39 crore |
-34.25 lakh | -5.96% |
| Chhattisgarh[23] | 2.12 crore | 1.87 crore |
-25 lakh | -11.8% |
| Rajasthan[24] | 5.46 crore | 5.15 crore |
-31 lakh | -5.7% |
| Tamil Nadu[25] | 6.41 crore | 5.67 crore |
-74 lakh | -11.5% |
| Kerala[26] | 2.78 crore | 2.69 crore[27] |
-9 lakh | -3.24% |
| Goa[28] | 11.85 lakh | 10.57 lakh |
-1.28 lakh | -10.8% |
| Puducherry | 10.21 lakh[29] | 9.44 lakh[30] |
-0.77 lakh | -7.54% |
| Andaman and Nicobar Islands[31] | 3.10 lakh | 2.58 lakh |
-0.52 lakh | -16.6% |
| Lakshadweep[32] | 0.57 lakh | 0.57 lakh |
-206 | -0.35% |
| Total[33]
(Phase II) |
50.99 crore | 45.81 crore |
-5.18 crore | -10.2% |
Purpose of Special Intensive Revision
Purpose of Special Intensive Revision is to revise the electoral list due to rapid urbanisation, high levels of migration, the addition of new eligible voters, unreported deaths, and to remove the names of foreign illegal immigrants.[34]
West Bengal
In West Bengal, the most of the controversies took up during the process of SIR immediately after its declaration.
The Special Intensive Revision (S.I.R.) of Electoral Rolls in West Bengal during 2025 had a highly significant and controversial impact on people, particularly the Hindu refugees and illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.[35]
The primary reason for the panic was the linkage required for the SIR exercise, which opponents claimed was a covert step towards implementing the National Register of Citizens (NRC).[36]
Several issues took place following the implementation of SIR over the state.
- Panic-Driven Flight: Media reports indicated that hundreds of, and in some accounts, thousands of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants who had settled in West Bengal fled their residences and returned to Bangladesh, especially in border areas like Hakimpur checkpost near Basirhat, North 24 Parganas.[37]
- Reason for Flight: These individuals, many of whom worked as ragpickers, masons, or domestic workers, were reportedly living in West Bengal for years and had acquired forged Indian documents (Aadhaar, Voter Cards, Ration Cards) through brokers and local political figures. The fear was that the door-to-door verification by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and the scrutiny of their voter details under the SIR process would lead to their detection and potential deportation, similar to the processes associated with the NRC.
- Anxiety among Hindu Refugees (Matua community): The SIR required voters to trace their name or a parent's/relative's name to the old 2002 electoral roll ("legacy linkage"). Many Hindu refugees who migrated from Bangladesh, including a large section of the Matua community, settled in West Bengal in or after 2002.[38][39]
- Suicides and Deaths: The political rhetoric and the fear of being erased from the voter list (linked by many to the NRC threat) allegedly led to multiple unnatural deaths and suicides among people who had migrated from Bangladesh. Families claimed the victims were extremely anxious that the SIR would strip them of their established Indian citizenship.[40]
- CAA Offer vs. Ground Reality: BJP leaders attempted to allay fears by assuring Hindu refugees that they had nothing to fear and could apply for citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). However, many in the community remained unconvinced, fearing the SIR's scrutiny would precede any benefit from the CAA.[41][42]