Page 6 - Election Commission Of India

Final voter lists delayed in 9 states, UTs; Puducherry, Lakshadweep publish

Nine states and three Union territories have missed the original deadline to publish their final electoral rolls as part of the ongoing special intensive revision of voters' list. However, the Union territories of Lakshdweep and Puducherry came out with their final rolls on Saturday as part of the Election Commission's ambitious phase two of voters' list cleanup exercise. According to Puducherry's chief electoral officer, the Union territory has 9,44,211 electors in the final voters' list. Lakshadweep has 57,607 electors according to the final voters' list. Announced on October 27 last year, the phase two of the special intensive revision covers a combined electorate of nearly 51 crore in these states and Union Territories. The exercise was to conclude on February 7 with the publication of final electoral rolls. While the deadline was missed, Lakshdweep and Puducherry on Saturday came out with their respective electoral rolls. Rajasthan too was to come up with its final rolls on

SIR discrepancy hearings in Bengal end; final rolls to be released Feb 28

The hearing for 'logical discrepancy' cases in the SIR exercise concluded across West Bengal on Saturday, a senior EC official said, adding that the the final electoral rolls is scheduled to be published on February 28. The hearings, which addressed omissions and inconsistencies in name spellings, began on December 27 and continued across the state at camps set up in schools, club rooms and administrative buildings. "The poll officials will now scrutinise documents till February 21, and the final electoral rolls is slated for publication on February 28," the official said. Any pending data for Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) must be uploaded by Monday. During the enumeration exercise, around 58 lakh names (deceased/duplicate/shifted voters) were referred as fit for omission and kept out of the draft electoral rolls published in December. The last date of publication of the final electoral rolls was February 14, which was later extended by the EC to February 28.

Assam completes electoral roll revision; 586K names added, 243K deleted

Assam's Chief Electoral Officer explained that, unlike the usual process, the recent exercise involved door-to-door verification to proactively identify eligible voters and collect necessary forms

ECI defers publication of Goa SIR's final electoral roll to Feb 21

The final electoral rolls of Goa, as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voters' list, will be published on February 21 instead of February 14, the Election Commission (EC) said on Wednesday. In a letter to the state chief electoral officer, the EC said "... final publication of electoral roll in respect of special intensive revision (SIR) ... shall be done on February 21, 2026 (Saturday)". It asked the CEO to inform political parties and other stakeholders accordingly. While the draft rolls were published on December 16 last year, the final rolls were slated to be published on Saturday. Of the 11.85 lakh electors in the draft rolls, 10.84 were included in the draft list, while another 1.01 lakh were put in the ASD (absent, shifted, dead/duplicate) category.

Won't allow impediments to SIR, says SC; extends Bengal voter list deadline

The top court extended the deadline for publication of the final voter list in West Bengal by one week

EC says permanent resident certificate is valid document under SIR 2026

The Election Commission of India has clarified that Permanent Resident Certificate is one of the admissible documents for determining eligibility under the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, an official said on Saturday. In a communication to the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) sent on Friday, the Commission referred to earlier correspondence dated January 1 and January 12, 2026, and stated that the SIR guidelines issued on October 27, 2025, explicitly include the Permanent Resident Certificate as a valid document, he said. The Commission said that Domicile or Permanent Resident Certificates in West Bengal are issued in accordance with a state government letter dated November 2, 1999, and subsequent orders issued thereunder. It clarified that Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs), as competent statutory authorities under the Representation of the People Act, 1950, shall accept .

West Bengal CEO asks ECI to extend SIR electoral roll hearings by 7 days

West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agarwal on Saturday requested the Election Commission of India to extend the final date of hearing under SIR of electoral rolls by seven days, after several district election officers reported delays in completion of hearings, verification, and data uploading. The deadline for the hearing under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was February 7. Agarwal told reporters that the appeal was made following inputs from seven to eight districts where different stages of the process were still pending. "I have appealed to extend the last date of hearing for seven days after receiving inputs from seven to eight district election officers. In some places, the process of hearing is yet to be over, while in others uploading, verification, and final decisions by the AEROs and EROs are still pending," Agarwal said. He said if allowed, hearings will now continue till February 14, adding that the final electoral roll, which was earlier

SIR in Telangana expected to be announced during April-May, says CEO

Telangana CEO C Sudharsan Reddy has said that the SIR of electoral rolls in the state is expected to be announced during AprilMay this year. Addressing a meeting with representatives of recognised political parties on Thursday, he said Booth Level Agents (BLAs) should preferably be drawn from the local area of the polling station and work in close coordination with Booth Level Officers. The Chief Electoral Officer informed the parties that the SIR is currently underway in 12 states, and that the schedule for the remaining states, including Telangana, is expected to be announced during AprilMay 2026. Given the limited time available for the revision once notified, he said preparatory work had already commenced in the state, a release quoting him late on Thursday said. Political parties were urged to appoint at least one BLA for every polling station ahead of the forthcoming SIR of electoral rolls, with the Chief Electoral Officer stressing that strong booth-level coordination would

West Bengal govt moves resolution in assembly over 'hardships' due to SIR

The West Bengal government on Thursday moved a resolution in the assembly over alleged hardships being faced by people due to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Moving the resolution under Rule 169, State Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shovandeb Chattopadhyay claimed that the SIR process led to harassment of voters and the death of 107 people due to anxiety over the exercise. Criticising the Election Commission, he asserted it had "turned into a commission of harassment" ahead of the assembly polls in the state. Speaker Biman Banerjee, however, rejected the proposal, contending that since the matter was pending before the apex court, the assembly could not deliberate on it.

SC agrees to hear PIL against poll freebies promises by political parties

The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to list for hearing in March a PIL seeking direction to seize the symbol or deregister a political party that promises or distributes "irrational freebies" before polls. Lawyer-petitioner Ashwini Updhyaya told a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi that the notices on his PIL were issued to the Centre and the Election Commission in 2022 itself, and urged it to list the matter soon. "Except Sun and Moon, everything is promised by political parties to voters during elections and this amounts to corrupt practice," the lawyer said. "This is an important issue. You please remind us and mention it at the end. We will list in March," the CJI said. On January 25, 2022, a bench headed by the then Chief Justice N V Ramana had sought replies from the Centre and the Election Commission on the PIL seeking direction to seize the symbol or deregister a political party that promises or distributes "irrational freebies" before ..

SIR not for inclusion of voters but deletion: Mamata Banerjee before SC

West Bengal Chief Minister alleges voter exclusion and selective enforcement as Supreme Court seeks Election Commission's response on SIR process

Jharkhand to hold civic polls in 48 urban local bodies on Feb 23: SEC

The Jharkhand State Election Commission (SEC) on Tuesday announced that civic polls to 48 urban local bodies in the state, including Ranchi, will be held on February 23. The counting of votes will take place on February 27. "The voting for the civic polls to 48 urban local bodies in the state will be held in a single phase on February 23," State Election Commissioner Alka Tiwari said while issuing a notification in this regard. ULB polls in Jharkhand are not contested on the electoral symbols of the political parties, but candidates are backed by the outfits. The Jharkhand High Court had earlier slammed the state government over the delay in conducting the local body polls. The civic polls in Jharkhand have been pending for the last three years. All civic bodies are currently under the administrative control of government officials. The commission, in November 2025, outlined before the high court a timeline of eight weeks for completing the formalities and issuing the notificati

EC facing pressure, need to protect its independence: Kharge on Voters' Day

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday said that in recent times, institutions like the Election Commission have faced sustained pressure and therefore it is "our responsibility" to protect their independence so that democracy does not merely survive, but truly thrives. He said snatching the "Right to Vote" through "vote chori" and unplanned SIR tarnishes India's long-cherished democracy. In a post on X on National Voters' Day, Kharge said this day is a powerful reminder that a nation's future belongs to its people, and that our collective voice can shape our shared destiny. "The people of India deserve a free, fair and fearless elections, where clean electoral rolls and level-playing field is the primary requisite," the Congress chief said. Snatching the "Right to Vote" through Vote Chori and unplanned Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls tarnishes India's long-cherished democracy, Kharge said. "In recent times, our institutions like the Election Commissio

EC uploads names on logical discrepancies list after Supreme Court's order

The Election Commission on Saturday evening uploaded on its website the names of people on the list of SIR logical discrepancies list following an order of the Supreme Court, a poll panel official said. The district electoral officers will now download the list and display it on panchayat bhavans and block offices as directed by the court. The Supreme Court on January 19 directed the EC to display the names of those on the "logical discrepancies" list at gram panchayat bhavans, block offices of talukas and ward offices in West Bengal by Saturday. The court noted that 1.25 crore voters in the state figure on the "logical discrepancies" list. "The lists of unmapped voters and those with logical discrepancies are on our website," the official told PTI. Logical discrepancies in progeny linking with the 2002 voter list include instances of a mismatch in the parent's name and the age difference between a voter and their parent being less than 15 years or more than 50 years. The poll pan

SIR voter roll revision to be rolled out in remaining states soon: CEC

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Saturday said the special intensive revision of voters' lists in the remaining states will be rolled out soon as he described "pure" electoral rolls as the bedrock of democracy. On the eve of the Election Commission's foundation day -- also celebrated as National Voters' Day -- Kumar said the revision exercise is presently being conducted "smoothly" in 12 states and Union territories. The chief election commissioner said pure electoral rolls are the bedrock of democracy and added, "With this objective, the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was initiated to ensure that every eligible elector's name is included in the electoral roll and that every ineligible name is removed." This exercise has been successfully completed in Bihar, and a 'special revision' of electoral rolls is separately underway in Assam, Kumar said. He said, "It (SIR) will soon be rolled out in the remaining states as well. "The most compelling testame

SIR in Bengal done in haste, may hurt democratic participation: Amartya Sen

Nobel laureate Amartya Sen has voiced deep unease over the SIR process in West Bengal, warning that the exercise is being conducted with "undue haste" and may jeopardise democratic participation, particularly with the assembly elections approaching in a few months. The 92-year-old economist, speaking to PTI during an interview from Boston, reflected on the democratic value of electoral roll revisions and the circumstances under which they can strengthen voting rights. He stressed that such an exercise must be conducted with care and adequate time, conditions he believes are "missing" in Bengal's case. "A thorough review of electoral rolls done carefully with adequate time can be a good democratic procedure, but this is not what is happening in West Bengal at this time," Sen said. "The SIR is being done in a hurry, with inadequate time for people with voting rights to have sufficient opportunity to submit documents to vindicate their entitlement to vote in the coming assembly ...

India, Namibia sign MoU on election management on sidelines of IICDEM 2026

The MoU was signed by Chief Election Commissioner of India Gyanesh Kumar and Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Namibia Elsie T Nghikembua, at IICDEM 2026 in Delhi

SC says ECI must follow constitutional limits in voter roll revision

Chief Justice Surya Kant then raised concerns about transparency, noting that revisions under Section 21(3) could have serious civil consequences for voters

AIBOC flags security lapses, seeks curbs on bank officers' election duties

AIBOC has urged the ECI and DFS to curb election-related deployment of PSU bank officers in West Bengal, citing security lapses, discrimination and disruption to core banking work

Goa SIR: EC clarifies notice to ex-Navy chief over missing details

The Election Commission of India on Monday issued a clarification on the notice issued as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision in Goa to former Navy chief Admiral Arun Prakash (retd), stating that his enumeration form did not contain mandatory particulars related to the previous SIR. The ECI had asked Prakash, who has been settled in Goa since his retirement, to attend a meeting to establish his identity as part of the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls. Several netizens, including those who retired from the armed forces, had expressed concern about such a notice to Prakash, a Vir Chakra awardee for his role in the India-Pakistan War of 1971. In a clarification issued on Monday, Electoral Registration Officer Dr Medora Ermomilla D'Costa said, "In the context of media reports relating to notices issued during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), it is clarified that during the course of SIR, the Booth Level Officer (BLO) of Part No. 43 of Cortalim Assembly Constituency ...