The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced the third phase of its Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, significantly expanding the nationwide voter verification exercise across 16 states and three Union Territories. With the latest rollout, the SIR process will now cover almost the entire country, making it one of the biggest electoral verification drives in recent years. According to the Election Commission, the latest phase has been planned carefully alongside the ongoing Census house-listing operations because both activities require the same field-level administrative machinery. Officials said the exercise is aimed at improving the accuracy of electoral rolls, removing duplicate or ineligible names and ensuring that all eligible voters are properly included ahead of future elections.
As per reports, the Commission clarified that only a few regions, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, have currently been left out of the ongoing SIR rollout. The poll body said schedules for these regions would be announced later after assessing the completion of the second phase of Census operations and considering weather-related difficulties in snow-bound and upper-reach areas.
Massive nationwide verification drive to involve lakhs of officers and political party representatives
The Election Commission said more than 3.94 lakh Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will take part in the door-to-door verification process during the enumeration phase of the SIR exercise. These officials will verify details of nearly 36.73 crore electors across the country as part of the revision process. The BLOs will also receive support from around 3.42 lakh Booth Level Agents (BLAs) appointed by different political parties. According to the Commission, the participation of political parties is a major part of ensuring transparency and trust in the SIR process.
Describing the revision as a “participative exercise”, the Election Commission urged all political parties to appoint BLAs at every polling booth so that wider stakeholder participation can be maintained throughout the electoral roll verification process, as per reports.
Election Commission says cooperation from political parties is essential for transparency
Speaking on the importance of coordination between election officials and political parties, the Commission said, “The Special Intensive Revision is a participative exercise involving electors, political parties and election officials.” Reports say that the poll body further stressed that active cooperation from political parties remains essential to ensure fair and transparent verification of electoral rolls under the SIR exercise. The Commission’s statement reflects its attempt to increase confidence in the large-scale revision process as voter lists are updated ahead of upcoming elections in different parts of the country.
The SIR exercise has become one of the Election Commission’s largest administrative operations because it directly affects voter records and future electoral participation across multiple states and Union Territories.
Earlier phases of SIR already covered nearly 59 crore electors across India
The Election Commission also shared details about the scale of the first two phases of the SIR programme, which were conducted across 13 states and Union Territories earlier. According to the ECI, nearly 59 crore electors were covered during those phases. More than 6.3 lakh BLOs and around 9.2 lakh BLAs appointed by political parties participated in different stages of the exercise nationwide.
As per reports, Officials said the revision process is aimed at ensuring electoral rolls remain accurate and updated by removing duplicate entries, identifying ineligible names and facilitating the inclusion of all eligible citizens who can vote in future elections.
State-wise schedules and operational guidelines expected soon
The Election Commission is now expected to release detailed state-wise schedules and operational instructions for the third phase of the SIR exercise in the coming days. As the process expands across most of the country, election officials are likely to begin large-scale field verification work soon, with lakhs of BLOs conducting door-to-door checks. The Commission believes the SIR exercise will help strengthen the integrity and reliability of India’s electoral rolls ahead of upcoming polls.
Khalid Qasid is a media enthusiast with a strong interest in documentary filmmaking. He holds a Master’s degree in Convergent Journalism from AJK MCRC. He has also written extensively on esports at Sportsdunia. Currently, he covers world and general news at NewsX Digital.
