Election Commission Of India

How much did India's voter rolls shrink after SIR? State-wise analysis

Electoral rolls across 13 states and Union territories shrank by about 58.4 million after the first two SIR phases, with wide variation in the scale and rate of reduction

SC seeks ECI, WB replies on plea for speedy disposal of SIR voter appeals

The apex court issued notice to the Election Commission, the West Bengal government and the state's Chief Electoral Officer on a plea seeking faster disposal of SIR voter list appeals

ECI ready for One Nation One Election with 6 months' notice: JPC chief

The Election Commission believes that if Parliament passes the law in 2028, it can conduct 'One Nation One Election' from 2029

Delhi SIR: How do long-term tenants prove their 'ordinary residence'?

The law and the Election Commission both make it clear that ownership of a house is not a requirement for voter enrolment

Over 10 million voters of Delhi receive SIR forms; 575,000 digitised

More than one crore of Delhi's 1.45 crore electors have been provided enumeration forms under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, while over 5.75 lakh completed forms have been digitised so far, according to official data released on Thursday. As per the status report issued on July 9, a total of 1,08,39,896 enumeration forms have been distributed, covering 74.70 per cent of the capital's 1,45,10,298 electors. The number of digitised forms stood at 5,75,478, accounting for 3.97 per cent of the total electorate. The door-to-door enumeration drive began on June 30 and will continue till July 29. Officials have said the initial priority is to ensure enumeration forms reach every eligible voter, after which collection and digitisation of completed forms will gather pace. According to the Chief Electoral Officer's (CEO) data, South district recorded the highest number of forms distributed at 11,49,953, followed by East (11,33,009), South East (10,58,999), West ...

Bypolls to three Rajya Sabha seats from West Bengal on July 24: EC

Bypolls to three Rajya Sabha seats from West Bengal, vacated following the resignation of rebel Trinamool Congress MPs, will be held on July 24, the Election Commission said on Monday. The three TMC Rajya Sabha members who resigned are Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, Sushmita Dev and Prakash Chik Baraik. They stepped down on different dates in June after questioning the party leadership following its defeat in the assembly polls. According to the procedure, the votes will be counted on the evening of July 24. With the BJP sweeping the West Bengal assembly polls, their numbers in the Rajya Sabha are set to go up after the three bypolls.

Over 32% of Delhi's 14.5 million voters covered in SIR drive so far

More than 32 per cent of Delhi's 1.45 crore electors have been distributed enumeration forms, while just over 1 per cent of the completed forms have been digitised in the first five days of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in the capital, according to official data. A total of 46,54,989 enumeration forms were distributed across the capital and 1,46,438 completed forms were digitised till Saturday, data shared by the office of the Delhi Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) showed. The distribution covered 32.08 per cent of Delhi's 1,45,10,298 registered electors, while the digitised forms accounted for 1.01 per cent of the total electorate. The Delhi CEO's office said in a post on X that the chief electoral officer, along with an electoral registration officer (EROs) and a booth-level officer (BLO), presented and collected the filled enumeration form from the Vice President of India, C P Radhakrishnan, as part of the exercise "aimed at preparing a transparent, inclusive and

CEC says SIR made voter rolls more accurate, India's polls more credible

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Saturday described India's electoral system as one of the most transparent and credible in the world and asserted the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) had made voter lists more accurate and reliable. Addressing an interaction with booth-level officers (BLOs) here, he said the Election Commission of India is focusing on providing voter services to the elderly, persons with disabilities, migrant workers, illiterate citizens, and disadvantaged communities so that no eligible citizen is deprived of voting. "It is also being ensured that no ineligible citizen's name is included in the voter list. To this end, the SIR campaign was successfully conducted. Under the SIR process, voter lists have been made more accurate and reliable by identifying absentee, deceased, transferred, duplicate, and ineligible voters," he asserted. The purification of the electoral roll through SIR is the constitutional obligation of the Election Commission in accordan

Election Commission issues notice to K Kavitha proposed party name 'TRS'

Move follows over 1,100 objections, including a complaint reportedly filed by the BRS, over similarities with the party's former name

Delhi voter roll revision starts today: Here's everything you need to know

The month-long Special Intensive Revision will verify nearly 14.5 million voters through door-to-door visits before Delhi's electoral rolls are finalised in October

India leads major democracies in electoral transparency: CEC Gyanesh Kumar

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Monday said India was leading the world's major democracies with a transparent electoral process in which every stage of the exercise is audited by the political parties and candidates. "We discussed the components of the world's most transparent electoral process -- preparation of the voter list, polling and counting. These are concurrently audited by all political parties and candidates," Kumar, who is on a three-day visit to Kashmir, told reporters here. Earlier in the day, Kumar addressed a gathering of booth-level officers (BLOs) in Budgam district, about 12 km from Srinagar. He said India currently holds the chair of International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), an intergovernmental organisation that supports sustainable democracy worldwide. "Seeing this process of Indian elections, in 2026 Bharat is currently leading all the large democratic countries of the world, and is also the chairperson

SIR now part of class 9 NCERT textbook, EC lauded for impartial polls

The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is now part of the NCERT's class 9 Social Science textbook, which describes it as an exercise to ensure that no eligible citizen is left out of the voter list and no ineligible person is included. The new National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) textbook also lauds the Election Commission of India (ECI) for conducting impartial polls despite challenges such as fake news, misinformation and intimidation. The SIR, which has so far led to the deletion of nearly 6 crore names from the electoral rolls and led to acrimony between the opposition parties and the ECI, has completed a year and continues in 19 states and Union territories. The pilot SIR commenced in Bihar on June 24 last year ahead of the state polls. The result was a pruned voter list, with nearly 65 lakh names dropped amid claims by the opposition and activists that the ECI was working at the BJP's behest to disenfranchise citizens for want of ...

Passport among valid documents for SIR identification: EC officials

Election Commission officials on Thursday said that Indian passports continue to be among the 12 valid supporting documents required by voters to prove their eligibility to be on the voters' list under the ongoing special intensive revision of electoral rolls. They were responding to a query following a controversy that arose after the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated that a passport is not proof of citizenship, referencing the Passport Act of 1967. Government sources have underlined that a passport has never been considered proof of citizenship, and there has been no new policy regarding this document implemented by the Modi government in the past 12 years. During the Bihar SIR, Assam's special revision, and subsequent phases of poll roll revision, passports have consistently been listed as one of the 12 documents that individuals can submit when applying to register or maintain their status on the electoral rolls. "Passport was and continues to be one of the documents to

YSRCP flags 'irregularities' in SIR implementation in Andhra, writes to EC

The YSRCP on Saturday alleged that certain issues, irregularities and practical difficulties are plaguing the implementation of SIR in Andhra Pradesh, and requested the EC to immediately take corrective measures in the interest of a free, fair and transparent electoral roll revision. In a letter addressed to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), YSRCP MLC and state general secretary L Appireddy raised several issues such as Booth Level Officers (BLOs) being interrupted, lack of adequate public awareness and others. "I respectfully submit this representation bringing to your (CEO) kind notice certain serious issues, irregularities and practical difficulties being faced in the implementation of the ongoing SIR in Andhra Pradesh, which require immediate corrective measures in the interest of free, fair and transparent electoral roll revision," he said. According to Appireddy, BLOs, who are entrusted with the onus of undertaking the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) are also burdened with .

Congress protests nomination rejection as EC agrees to hear Natarajan plea

Congress leaders staged a protest outside the Election Commission office after Meenakshi Natarajan's nomination was rejected, with the poll body agreeing to meet a party delegation

EC empowered to conduct limited scrutiny of citizenship during SIR: SC

The Supreme Court on Wednesday held that the Election Commission is empowered to conduct a limited scrutiny of citizenship status while preparing and revising electoral rolls. The top court, however, clarified that such scrutiny cannot amount to a final adjudication of citizenship, which remains the exclusive domain of central government authorities under the Citizenship Act. The observations on the effect of citizenship were made by a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant in the significant verdict upholding the Election Commission's (EC's) power to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls. The bench held that the EC has the authority to examine citizenship status only for the limited purpose of determining eligibility for the electoral rolls. "In view of the statutory requirement under Section 16 of the RP (Representation of the People) Act, the Commission, in the course of preparing or revising electoral rolls, is undoubtedly empowered to examine ...

Supreme Court backs electoral roll revision, says linked to fair elections

The Supreme Court upheld the Election Commission's electoral roll revision exercise, saying accurate voter lists are integral to ensuring free and fair elections

'Necessary for free and fair polls': SC upholds EC's power to conduct SIR

The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the power of the Election Commission of India to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise of electoral rolls, saying that it "advances the constitutional imperative of free and fair elections". It can't be said that the poll panel acted outside statutory powers by exercising SIR, observed a bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant. "We are unable to conclude that the impugned exercise is a process resorted to solely for administrative convenience. On the contrary, we hold that the electoral SIR advances the constitutional imperative of free and fair elections," the bench said. The pleas challenging SIR claimed that the Election Commission does not have powers under Article 326 of the Constitution, the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Rules made under it to carry out SIR in a larger form. On January 29, the top court reserved its verdict on the pleas, including one filed by the NGO Association for Democratic Reforms ...

Delhi to undergo SIR on June 30, final electoral roll on October 7

The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voters list will begin in Delhi with door-to-door visits by booth-level officers from June 30 in a transparent manner, Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Ashok Kumar said on Wednesday. Addressing a press conference, Kumar said that from June 20 to June 29, training of booth-level officers (BLOs) and printing of enumeration forms and other papers will be underway as the in-house activity for the SIR. There are checks and balances at every step of the verification process, and political parties will be involved through booth-level agents (BLAs). All the information will be shared through the website of the CEO's office, he said. Awareness activities will be carried out, and special camps will be set up to help voters submit their enumeration forms, Kumar said. The voters will be provided two copies of the enumeration forms, one of which will be filled out and returned to the BLOs. The voters will also have the facility to submit completed enumeratio

EC announces Rajya Sabha polls for 24 seats on June 18

The Election Commission on Friday announced polls for 24 Rajya Sabha seats on June 18. In a statement, the EC said the elections for the Rajya Sabha seats will be held in 10 states where the incumbents are retiring on different dates beginning June 21 to July 19. The Rajya Sabha elections will be held in four seats each in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka, three seats each in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, two seats in Jharkhand and one seat each in Manipur, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram. The last date for filing nominations is June 8.