Election Commission Of India

West Bengal SIR: No large-scale impact on Muslim-dominated districts

Largest voter removal in West Bengal in at least a decade

Mamata alleges gross errors in EC's SIR exercise, accuses poll body of bias

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday lashed out at the Election Commission, alleging that there were gross errors in the SIR exercise conducted so far in the state. Addressing a meeting of TMC's booth level agents at the Netaji Indoor Stadium here, Banerjee also alleged that the EC was appointing observers without informing the state govt, and working to foster the BJP's interests. The Election Commission is working only as per the directions of the BJP. There are gross errors in mapping of voters during the special intensive revision (SIR) exercise in the state, she alleged. The TMC supremo also asserted that cental officers who have been appointed micro observers for SIR hearings have little knowledge of the local language, and are unfit to conduct the verifications during the second phase of the ongoing revision exercise.

Only Indians should be part of voters' list: CEC on electoral rolls

Stressing the need for "purification of electoral rolls" from time to time, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday said only Indian citizens should be in the voters' list. Addressing the Booth Level Officers (BLOs) of Telangana here, he said India is the world's largest democracy. The BLOs formed the backbone of India's electoral system and the success of electoral roll purification depended on their diligence and integrity. He noted that the global community closely watched India's elections to understand how the world's largest democracy functioned. He said during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the BLOs of Bihar had shown the way to the country. Under the phase-III of SIR, Telangana would demonstrate to the entire country how the exercise should be conducted. On the SIR undertaken by the Election Commission in Bihar, he said the exercise had been carried out flawlessly. The list of deleted electors in Bihar included 22 lakh who had passed

Urban Bengal sees biggest voter deletions in EC's SIR draft rolls

The data revealed that 2.46 million voters, or 3.15 per cent, were identified as deceased, while 3.26 million were found to have shifted residence or were absent

Over 2.4 mn voters remain untraced after enumeration phase in Kerala SIR

Kerala Chief Electoral Officer Rathan U Kelkar on Saturday said that 24,08,503 voters remain untraced after the enumeration stage of the SIR of the electoral rolls in the state. He was speaking at an all-party meeting convened to review the SIR procedures. Kelkar presented the SIR figures after the completion of the enumeration process. According to the data, 24,08,503 enumeration forms remain uncollected out of 2.78 crore existing voters in the state, accounting for 8.65 per cent. Of these, 6,49,885 pertain to deceased persons, 6,45,548 voters were found untraceable, and 8,16,221 voters were identified as having permanently shifted from their registered addresses. In addition, 1,36,029 duplicate voters and 1,60,830 voters falling under other categories were identified. Kelkar said the draft electoral roll will be published on December 23. He said issues related to the voters' list can be addressed during the grievance redressal period from December 23 to January 22, 2026. Also,

ECI releases draft electoral roll for Tamil Nadu; over 970K voters removed

Since this is a draft list, electors will have an opportunity to appeal to have their names included, with the "Claims and Objections" period running from December 19 to January 18, 2026

Gyanesh Kumar must answer how EC allowed vote theft, says Priyanka

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday said every step of the poll process arouses suspicion and asserted that the chief election commissioner and the two election commissioners must answer how they "conspired" to take away people's voting rights. Addressing the party's 'Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod' mega rally at Ramlila grounds here, Priyanka Gandhi said Indians must rise when the country's institutions are being crushed. She named Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, and said the BJP will not be able to save them, as one day they will be forced to answer for "conspiring" to take away people's vote. "I challenge the BJP to contest polls on the ballot paper. They know they will never win," the Congress general secretary said. "You should not lose heart over losing Bihar, the entire country knows BJP wins through 'vote chori'," she said. The party leader said the Election Commission turned a blind eye to Rs .

Election Commission extends timeline for SIR in 5 states and 1 UT

The decision came after several extension requests were received from the Chief Electoral Officers

Mamata calls Shah 'dangerous', warns of dharna over SIR voter deletions

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday called Union Home Minister Amit Shah "dangerous", and warned that she would sit on a dharna if even a single eligible voter's name was struck off from the list during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Launching a blistering attack on Shah, the chief minister said at a rally in Krishnanagar in Nadia district, "The country's home minister is dangerous. You can see it in his eyes it's terrifying. In one eye, you see 'Duryodhan', and in the other, 'Dushasan'." Alleging that the SIR was being used as a political weapon ahead of the 2026 assembly polls, Banerjee said, "If even a single eligible voter's name is struck off, I will sit on a dharna. There will be no detention camps in West Bengal. They are so hungry for votes that they are conducting the SIR just two months before elections." Banerjee said that she herself had not filled out her enumeration form so far. "Do I now need to prove my citizensh

EC to share list of dead, absent voters with parties before SIR draft roll

The Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday said the booth-level agents appointed by political parties will be provided with a list of dead, shifted and dead voters before the publication of the draft voters' list in the 12 states and Union territories where the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise is underway. The draft electoral rolls in these nine states and three Union territories will be published on December 16. The EC said the chief electoral officers (CEOs) of the 12 states and Union territories have been asked to share a booth-wise list of absent, shifted and dead or duplicate voters with the booth-level agents (BLAs). These are the voters with whom the booth-level officers (BLOs) could not establish contact despite three attempts. The EC had followed a similar procedure during the Bihar SIR.

Lok Sabha to continue SIR discussion on 8th day of ongoing winter session

The upper house of Parliament is also set to take up discussion on electoral reforms after further discussion on the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram on Wednesday

Vote chori anti-national act, EC colluding with BJP: Rahul Gandhi

BJP defends EVMs, cites Rajiv Gandhi's pilot project, accuses Opposition of double standards

Supreme Court warns of 'anarchy' as BLOs face threats during SIR process

The Supreme Court voiced concern over booth-level officers being threatened during the SIR of electoral rolls and asked the Election Commission to flag any non-cooperation by states

EC has no legal right to conduct SIR, claims Congress' Manish Tewari

Congress MP Manish Tewari on Tuesday claimed that the Election Commission legally has no right to conduct the SIR and it must be stopped, as he asserted that many Opposition leaders as well as people now feel the need to raise questions over the poll body's neutrality. Initiating a discussion on Election Reforms in the Lok Sabha, Tewari said the first election reform should be to amend the law of 2023 on the selection of the chief election commissioner and election commissioners. He said the law stipulates that the panel be comprised of the prime minister, the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha and a cabinet minister. "It is my suggestion that two members should be added to this panel -- the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and the Chief Justice of India. "If such a committee is formed then 'theek se khela hobega' and it will play an important role in removing the doubts over the Election Commission (EC)," Tewari said. The Congress leader said that BR Ambedkar ensured th

StatsGuru: Half the nation's electoral power hinges on the SIR exercise

India's voter base continues to expand, with 12 states adding 160 million electors since 2004 as the Election Commission prepares to release fresh SIR data on December 16

Around 76.2 mn enumeration forms digitised in Bengal since SIR launch: EC

An estimated 7.62 crore enumeration forms have so far been digitised in West Bengal, over a month after the launch of the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state ahead of the 2026 assembly polls. An Election Commission official said 99.43 per cent of the total number of distributed enumeration forms were digitised till Saturday afternoon. West Bengal now stands eighth among the 12 other states/Union Territories in terms of progress in digitisation of enumeration forms, after Lakshadeep, Rajasthan, Goa, Andaman and Nicobar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Puducherry, he said. A total of 7,66,16,840 enumeration forms have been distributed since November 4, the beginning of the SIR process, till December 6, the official said.

ECI extends Kerala electoral roll revision timeline ahead of polls

The Election Commission of India on Friday decided to extend by one week the SIR schedule for Kerala in view of the upcoming local body polls in the state. The local body polls will be held in the state on December 9 and 11 in two phases. The commission's order comes after Kerala submitted a request, as permitted by the Supreme Court, to extend the last dates for submission of the enumeration forms and other procedures which are part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll. Under the revised schedule, the draft electoral roll will be published on December 23 as against the earlier date of December 16. The final electoral roll will be published on February 21, 2026 as against the earlier date of February 14, 2026, the commission said.

SC directs states to deploy more staff to support BLOs on SIR duty

Amid reports of multiple BLO deaths during the electoral roll revision, the Supreme Court ordered states to deploy additional staff and consider exemptions on a case-by-case basis to reduce hardships

Suvendu Adhikari urges EC for stricter monitoring during SIR in West Bengal

Earlier this week, Suvendu wrote to the Chief Election Commissioner, alleging a violation of the "neutrality" principle and misuse of police by the TMC government during the SIR exercise

CEC Gyanesh Kumar assumes chair of international poll body for 2026

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Wednesday assumed the chairship of the Council of Member States of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) for the year 2026 at Stockholm. In his acceptance speech, Kumar highlighted the scale of India's democratic exercise, noting that the country has over 900 million electors across 28 states and eight Union Territories. Reflecting upon the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he said that India witnessed a breathtaking democratic spectacle where over 20,000 candidates from 743 political parties, including six national and 67 state parties, participated. Affirming the direction ahead, the chief election commissioner (CEC) pledged that India's chairmanship will be decisive, ambitious and action-oriented. As chair, Kumar will steer the council's work around India's overall theme for the Chairship "Democracy for an inclusive, peaceful, resilient and sustainable world", the Election Commission said in a