ECI Announces SIR Phase-III: Electoral Roll Revision To Cover 16 States And 3 UTs. What Does It Mean For Voters?

The Election Commission of India has announced the launch of phase 3 of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in 16 states and three Union Territories, in an exercise to bring the voter lists more up-to-date via a door-to-door enumeration exercise before the upcoming elections. Which states and UTs will be included? 

Phase 3 of the SIR will cover wide swaths of the country, including the states of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Telangana and Uttarakhand, and many of the Northeastern states. However, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh have been left out of the current plans due to weather and logistical reasons.

Why are some regions not included in this exercise?

Actually, ECI has said that the SIR might be held later in Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. This move has been made because of the ongoing Census house-listing exercise and the challenging weather conditions prevailing in snow-bound and high-altitude areas of these regions, which hamper fieldwork. 

Election Commission of India has directed the conduct of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in 16 States and 3 Union Territories (UTs) as per Annexure-I. pic.twitter.com/5ekmPOJhMo

— ANI (@ANI) May 14, 2026

This exercise will involve a colossal administrative exercise. The 3.94 lakh Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will go door-to-door to verify 36.73 crore electors, and will be assisted by 3.42 lakh Booth Level Agents (BLAs), appointed by political parties to monitor and ensure transparency.

Why is SIR happening together with Census work?

Election Commission has scheduled the SIR at the same time as the house-listing work of the Census because both will use similar field-level staff and logistical arrangements. The hope is that it will help avoid duplication of effort and make things more efficient.

SIR involves cleaning up the electoral rolls by removing duplicate or deceased or ineligible names and ensuring all eligible citizens are on the voter list, so that we have a sound voter database when elections come around.

What is SIR (Special Intensive Revision)? What you should know

Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is a national programme run by the Election Commission of India to verify and update electoral rolls. This involves verifying and correcting details of voters, and adding new eligible voters to the rolls.

The aim of SIR is to make sure that the electoral rolls are accurate and up to date. It helps to remove duplicate, deceased and ineligible names and ensure nobody is omitted from the voter rolls.

What should voters know about SIR?

Voters should be aware that officials from the BLO may visit your home during SIR for verification and may request basic details to confirm your registration. Voters are urged to cooperate and provide accurate details to avoid mistakes in the final electoral rolls.

ECI has termed SIR as ‘participative exercise’ and has advised political parties to put Booth Level Agents at all polling stations so as to work together with election officials to ensure transparency and confidence in the process.

Election Commission is set to issue state-wise timelines and operational guidelines in the coming days. Almost the entire India will be covered under the voter list revision exercise once Phase-III is over.

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