New Delhi: The Election Commission of India on Thursday announced a revised schedule for the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls. The schedule has been extended for five states and one Union Territory, the poll body said in a statement on Thursday evening, "based on requests received from Electoral Roll Officers" in Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Andaman & Nicobar and Uttar Pradesh.

These states were supposed to complete the complex and difficult process by 16 December, with the publication of their draft electoral rolls. The enumeration process – with Booth Level Officers (BLO) expected to include all voters in their lists and gather their necessary details – was supposed to end on December 11, Thursday.

Also read: SIR: Election Commission Extends Voter List Revision Deadline by 7 Days For All 12 States

As per the freshly revised scheme, the enumeration phase will end on December 14 in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, making it a three-day extension for these two states. Their draft electoral rolls will now be published on December 19.

The enumeration period in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Andaman & Nicobar will end on December 18 – a week's extension over the previous deadline – and their draft electoral rolls are to be released on December 23.

In Uttar Pradesh, the enumeration phase has been extended by 15 days. Now BLOs in the state have up to December 26 to finish this task. The draft electoral rolls for the most populous state will be published, as per the new schedule, on December 31.

This means Uttar Pradesh is expected to be ready with its draft rolls only one day before the "qualifying date" of January 1, 2026.

In Goa, Puducherry, Lakshadweep, Rajasthan and West Bengal, the enumeration ends as per the previously relaxed deadline of December 11, 2025. The draft electoral rolls for these states and Union Territories are still expected to be published by December 16.

As per the schedule for Kerala, enumeration of voters would be completed by December 18, and the draft rolls published on December 23, the election commission said in a statement, also released on its X social media account at 5.22 PM on December 11.

The election commission has extended deadlines due to the enormity of the exercise, which has led to numerous complaints from its own enumerators almost as soon as the exercise began. Many enumerators reportedly complained of being forced to participate in the exercise despite being unable to do so.

The Wire has reported on instances of BLOs dying by suicide, allegedly due to the stress of the process. In Ahmedabad and elsewhere, teachers assigned BLO work held a protest alleging "threat and pressure" during the SIR.

Also read: SIR: 3 BLO Deaths in UP, Rajasthan in 3 Days; EC Posts Videos of Staff Dancing During Breaks

The election commission and district-level state officials have denied there is stress or pressure on the enumerators, who are mostly government school teachers or other staffers at the grassroots level.

The matter of hardships faced by BLOs is also being heard by the Supreme Court of India. Last week, the top court asked state governments to replace the stressed-out workers on a "case-by-case basis" and to spruce up recruitment to meet the demands of the SIR exercise. It did not halt the exercise.

The Union government decided to undertake the SIR earlier this year, beginning with Bihar, where 45 lakh voters were excluded from the final list for a variety of reasons, including the voter having deceased, permanent migration, enrollment in more than one booth, and other reasons.

The election commission has not shared details of whether it could identify non-residents or foreign nations during the SIR.

The SIR will also enrol new voters, of which around 13 lakh were included in the final voter list in Bihar. The exercise in Bihar invited strong criticism and objections from several quarters, including the Opposition parties, for creating a sense of fear, anxiety and panic among all voters, and calling it inherently unfair to disadvantaged groups, migrant workers, women and minority communities.

Nine states and three Union Territories are currently conducting the SIR in all their assembly constituencies. The final electoral rolls are to be published in all these regions in February 2026.

If you know someone – friend or family member – at risk of suicide, please reach out to them. The Suicide Prevention India Foundation maintains a list of telephone numbers they can call to speak in confidence. Icall, a counselling service run by TISS, has maintained a crowdsourced list of therapists across the country. You could also take them to the nearest hospital.

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