What Happened
- The Election Commission of India's (ECI) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, conducted across 10 states and 3 Union Territories, has resulted in a net reduction of approximately 5.58 crore names from electoral rolls, with the largest deletions recorded in Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh.
- Phase II of the SIR was formally launched on November 4, 2025, covering approximately 51 crore electors across 321 districts and 1,843 Assembly constituencies; final rolls have now been published for states that have completed the process.
- The exercise involved door-to-door enumeration by Booth Level Officers (BLOs), stricter document verification for registrations made after 2003, and reconciliation of 2.22 crore cases of logical discrepancies.
- The ECI has maintained that no name was deleted without due process; critics, including opposition parties and civil society organizations, have raised concerns about potential disenfranchisement of migrant workers, poor communities, and minorities who may lack documentation.
Static Topic Bridges
Article 324 and Election Commission's Power Over Electoral Rolls
Article 324 of the Constitution vests the superintendence, direction, and control of the preparation of electoral rolls and the conduct of all elections to Parliament and State Legislatures in the Election Commission of India — a constitutional body.
- Article 324(1): ECI has "superintendence, direction and control" of electoral roll preparation — broad and plenary power
- Article 324 was described by the Supreme Court in Mohinder Singh Gill v. Chief Election Commissioner (1978) as a "reservoir of power" — ECI can act beyond the specific statutory powers when the situation demands
- The ECI operates under the Representation of the People Act, 1950 (for electoral roll preparation) and Representation of the People Act, 1951 (for conduct of elections)
- Section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 authorizes the ECI to direct intensive or summary revision of rolls as it thinks fit
- Rule 25 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 governs the mechanics: intensive revision requires preparation afresh with door-to-door enumeration under Rules 4-23; summary revision involves publication of amendments with an objection period
Connection to this news: The SIR is conducted under Article 324 + Section 21(3) + Rule 25. The scale of the exercise (10 states, 51 crore electors) and the consequential mass deletions raise questions about whether the ECI's plenary power was exercised with adequate procedural safeguards for the vulnerable.
The Special Intensive Revision (SIR): Process and Controversy
SIR was introduced by the ECI in 2025 as a special drive to purge electoral rolls of ghost voters (deceased, migrated, duplicate), particularly in states with high migration rates and rapid urbanization.
- Phase I (Bihar, 2025): Bihar was the pilot — over 80 million voters underwent re-verification with July 1, 2025 as the qualifying date
- Phase II (9 states + 3 UTs, November 2025 onwards): Includes Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep
- Deletions are classified under: deceased, permanently migrated, duplicate registrations, and document submission failures
- Voters registered after January 2003 faced stricter re-verification requirements including proof of birth and parentage
- The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and several political parties filed objections in the Supreme Court challenging the process
Connection to this news: The 5.58-crore net deletion figure masks the composition of deletions — how many are genuinely ghost voters versus genuine voters who lost documentation or were unreachable? That question drives the political and legal controversy around SIR.
Electoral Roll Accuracy: Constitutional and Democratic Stakes
The accuracy of electoral rolls is foundational to free and fair elections. Both under-inclusion (disenfranchising genuine voters) and over-inclusion (enabling bogus voting) undermine electoral integrity.
- India has an estimated adult population of approximately 96 crore; the total registered electorate as of 2024 was approximately 97 crore — near-complete coverage
- Over-inflated rolls are a concern where names of deceased/migrated persons remain on rolls and can be used for impersonation voting
- Under-enrollment is particularly common among: (i) migrant workers registered in native villages but residing elsewhere; (ii) the urban poor without fixed addresses; (iii) women after marriage/relocation
- Form 6: New registration application; Form 7: Deletion application (by third parties or authorities); Form 8: Change of address/corrections
- The Supreme Court in Association for Democratic Reforms v. Election Commission (2023 SIR case) heard challenges to the SIR methodology, particularly the requirement for post-2003 registrants to re-verify
Connection to this news: The SIR's large-scale deletions are defensible if they correct a genuinely bloated roll — but every deletion that removes a legitimate voter represents a constitutional deprivation of the Article 326 right to vote. The scale of the controversy lies in the ECI not releasing a category-wise breakdown of the deletions.
Key Facts & Data
- SIR Phase II launched: November 4, 2025
- Coverage: 10 states and 3 Union Territories, ~51 crore electors, 321 districts, 1,843 Assembly constituencies
- Net electoral roll reduction: approximately 5.58 crore names across 10 states and 3 UTs
- Largest deletions: Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh
- Uttar Pradesh: final roll at 13.39 crore (7.30 crore male, 6.09 crore female); 84 lakh new voters added
- Qualifying date for UP SIR: October 2025; final list published April 10, 2026
- Total duration of UP SIR campaign: 166 days
- 2.22 crore cases of logical discrepancies identified and reconciled in UP alone
- States that have published final rolls: UP, Gujarat, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Goa, Madhya Pradesh