SIR in 22 States and U.T.s expected from April: EC

20 FEBRUARY 2026

The Election Commission of India (EC) has informed 22 States and Union Territories that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists is likely to begin in April 2026.
SIR is a detailed revision of electoral rolls to remove duplicate or ineligible names, add eligible voters and correct errors in voter details
The EC has instructed Chief Electoral Officers to:

Map current voter lists with the electoral roll of 2002–2004 (when the last SIR was conducted).
Train Booth-Level Officers (BLOs) for door-to-door verification.
Complete all preparations before April 2026.

Census and SIR Overlap

The SIR exercise may overlap with the Population Census 2027, which is scheduled to begin its first phase (house listing) on April 1, 2026.
About 30 lakh enumerators (mostly government school teachers) will conduct the Census.
BLOs conducting SIR are also largely government school teachers.
To avoid staff shortages, the EC has reportedly coordinated with the Registrar General of India and the Office of the Census Commissioner.
They are planning to use administrative resources in a staggered manner.

SIR already undertaken

Bihar was the first State to undergo SIR in 2025 before its Assembly election.
On October 27, 2025, the Election Commission of India launched the second phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in 12 States and Union Territories—Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan.
Among them, Uttar Pradesh received the most extensions.

Special Case: Assam

In Assam, instead of SIR, a special revision was conducted due to legal issues linked to the incomplete National Register of Citizens (NRC) process.