SIR in 12 states: Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar has announced the second phase of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in 12 states and union territories. Its objective is to clean up the voter list. In this process, BLOs will visit every household three times and remove ineligible voters. Voter lists will be frozen in these states starting tonight.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar made the announcement at a press conference on Monday. This second phase of SIR will be conducted in 12 states and union territories, with the primary objective of cleaning up the voter list. The Election Commission stated that SIR was initiated in Bihar, where it was successful and zero complaints were received in the state. Bihar's 7.5 crore voters actively participated in this process, resulting in the publication of the final list.
SIR in these 12 states and UTs in Phase 2
SIR also aims to weed out foreign illegal immigrants
According to the Commission, increasing urbanization and migration necessitated updating voter lists, which is why this review is being conducted after two decades. The last SIR for voter lists in most states was conducted between 2002 and 2004. A key objective of this SIR is to remove duplicate voters from voter lists and ensure that voters are Indian citizens. The SIR also aims to weed out foreign illegal immigrants by verifying their place of birth. The Commission claims that its full focus is on states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, and Puducherry, where elections are scheduled by May 2026.
Every BLO will visit every household three times
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar clarified that under the SIR, every BLO will visit every household three times. BLOs will deliver pre-field forms to every voter's home. The primary goal of this process is to remove ineligible voters. The SIR will update the voter list, add new voters, and correct errors. Every voter who has attained the age of 18 by December 31st will be considered for this process.
21 crore voters will need to submit their documents
According to the Commission, there are 99.1 crore voters nationwide, and 70 crore voters were registered in the SIR between 2002 and 2004, so it is estimated that 21 crore voters will need to submit the required documents. The final SIR in the states will serve as the cut-off date.