Next Round of SIR, Including in Delhi, Maharashtra, To Begin in April

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced that the next phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls will begin in April. The Commission has issued notices to all 22 remaining states and Union Territories, including Delhi, Maharashtra and Karnataka, to begin preparatory activities for the exercise.

The move comes as the SIR process in 12 states is nearing completion.

According to officials, the SIR exercise was first initiated in June with Bihar, and was subsequently expanded to multiple states, including West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh. In West Bengal, where Assembly elections are approaching, the Commission has extended the timeline for the revision process to ensure comprehensive verification of electoral data.

The next round of SIR will be conducted in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Ladakh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Sikkim, Tripura, Telangana, and Uttarakhand.

Officials said detailed schedules will be released later. Elections are not scheduled in any of these states or UTs this year.

The SIR exercise involves door-to-door verification, removal of duplicate or ineligible entries, and inclusion of eligible voters who may have been left out of the rolls.

The legality and procedures related to the exercise are also currently under judicial review, and the Supreme Court of India is hearing petitions on various aspects.