SIR: Election Commission Extends Voter List Revision Deadline by 7 Days For All 12 States
New Delhi: The Election Commission of India has revised the schedule for the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across 12 states and union territories, extending the deadlines by a week, including that of form submission.
The new date of submitting electoral forms is December 11. It was December 4 earlier.
Moreover, the draft roll will now be published on December 16, as against the earlier scheduled date of December 9, and the final roll will now be published on February 14, 2026, as opposed to the earlier date of February 7, the press note stated.
The SIR is being conducted in Goa, Puducherry, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Lakshadweep. The procedure started on November 4.
Assam, on the other hand, will not undergo the SIR process but a special revision, with January 1, 2026, as the qualifying date.
Also read: Can Foreigners Use Aadhaar to Enter the Electoral Roll? What Supreme Court Said
The poll body’s announcement for the extension comes at a time when the EC is facing heavy criticism over the SIR process, which has created nationwide anxiety among voters and booth-level officers (BLOs).
In a departure from the contentious SIR exercise in Bihar, however, for its list of documents for proof for inclusion in the electoral rolls, this time the EC said that no supportive documents will be required in the period of collection of enumeration forms. It also included Aadhaar as the 12th document among its list of indicative documents.
The Wire has reported how across the country, several alleged suicides of BLOs have been reported in recent weeks, including in West Bengal, with officials linking the incidents to stress and pressure associated with the SIR exercise.
In Ahmedabad, nearly 250 primary school teachers assigned as BLOs held a sit-in protest alleging “threat and pressure” during the SIR.
While investigations are still underway in many of these cases, the reports have intensified concerns over workload, official expectations, and the broader conditions under which BLOs are carrying out the ongoing revision exercise.
With little real preparedness by the EC before announcement, the hybrid process – requiring both physical enumeration forms and their digitisation in limited time – has only deepened confusion.
This article went live on November thirtieth, two thousand twenty five, at fifty-nine minutes past one in the afternoon.The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
