Final voter lists for A&N Islands, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Lakshadweep, MP, Puducherry, Rajasthan, TN, UP, and West Bengal to be published on February 7, 2026
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar addressed the media in New Delhi on Monday.
| Photo Credit:
SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA
The Election Commission of India (ECI) will launch the second phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across 12 States and Union Territories from November 4, with the final voter lists to be published on February 7, 2026, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar announced on Monday.
The one-month-long exercise will cover Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. The announcement follows criticism from opposition parties over the timing and documentation requirements of a similar exercise conducted earlier in Bihar.
Of these, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala and Puducherry will face assembly elections next year. But Assam, which also votes in 2026, did not find mention in the list of states and UTs which will undertake SIR of electoral rolls.
Responding to this, the poll panel said that since citizenship rules for Assam ‘differ from the rest of the country’, voter list revision for the North East states will take placce at a later date.
According to the ECI’s timeline, training and printing activities will be conducted from October 28 to November 3, followed by the enumeration phase from November 4 to December 4. The draft rolls will be published on December 12, while claims and objections can be filed from December 9 to January 8, 2026. Hearings and verification will take place over the next 22 days, with Final Electoral Rolls scheduled for publication on February 7, 2026.
Complying with the Supreme Court’s September 9 order on the Bihar SIR, the Commission has included Aadhaar among the 12 indicative documents acceptable for verification.
Clarifying Aadhaar’s limited role, CEC Kumar said, “Aadhaar serves as proof of identity but not of domicile or citizenship. Section 9 of the Aadhaar Act explicitly states this, and the Supreme Court has reaffirmed that Aadhaar cannot be used as proof of date of birth. The card itself now carries this disclaimer. However, Aadhaar can still be used for e-signing and identification purposes.”
Kumar said that the voter lists in all 12 States and UTs will be frozen at midnight tonight, after which Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will distribute Unique Enumeration Forms containing voter details from the current rolls.
“Electors whose names appear in the 2003 voter list—or whose parents’ names appear—need not submit additional documents,” he explained. “Archived voter lists from 2002 to 2004 will be accessible on voters.eci.gov.in for self-verification.”
The ECI has refined its approach based on lessons learned from the Bihar SIR, ahead of that state’s two-phase Assembly elections on November 6 and 11, with results on November 14.
Among the key procedural changes, BLOs will now make up to three household visits to ensure data accuracy and linkage. Electors may also submit their forms online. If a voter’s name—or that of their parents—is missing from the 2003 list, the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) will determine eligibility using the indicative documents.
According to the Commission, there were “zero appeals” against the charges of ‘wrongful deletions’ in Bihar and the final roll was published on September 30.
To improve accessibility and reduce crowding, the ECI has also decided to limit the number of electors per polling booth to 1,200 and establish new polling stations in high-rise buildings, gated communities, and slum clusters.
Once the final list is published, voters or residents may appeal ERO decisions before the District Magistrate, and subsequently to the State Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) within 15 days.
Highlighting the need for a phase-wise national revision, CEC Kumar said the decision was driven by concerns such as migration, multiple registrations, undeleted names of deceased voters, and erroneous inclusion of foreign nationals.
“The Special Intensive Revision aims to ensure that every eligible citizen is included in the electoral roll and every ineligible name is removed,” he said
Published on October 27, 2025