✅ Nationwide Special Intensive Revision of Electoral Roll | Explained

28 October 2025

1

📌 Context

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in 12 States and Union Territories.

🗳️ What is a Special Intensive Revision (SIR)?

A Special Intensive Revision is a detailed and thorough checking of the voter list (electoral roll).

It is done to:
✔️ Remove wrong or outdated entries
✔️ Add missing eligible voters
✔️ Ensure clean, accurate voter data

🎯 Objectives of SIR

The main goals are:

✅ Improve accuracy

Removing names of people who:

Are deceased
Have permanently shifted
Have duplicate entries
Are non-citizens

✅ Include eligible voters

Ensuring no eligible citizen is left out.

🔍 Why is SIR Important?

Electoral roll = backbone of free elections
Wrong entries → fake votes, booth capturing
Missing entries → eligible citizens lose rights

A clean voter list strengthens democracy.

🏛️ Background

ECI recently conducted SIR in Bihar ahead of Assembly elections.
Now the exercise is being expanded nationwide.

🌍 States/UTs Included

The revision will be held in:

Andaman & Nicobar Islands
Chhattisgarh
Goa
Gujarat
Kerala
Lakshadweep
Madhya Pradesh
Puducherry
…and others.

⏱️ Past Frequency

SIR has been conducted eight times between:
👉 1951 to 2004

🔄 What’s New in This SIR (Phase-2 Changes)

✅ Focus on Inclusion

Enumerators will:

Trace existing electors using past rolls
Link records across multiple states

📌 No documents required initially

✅ Wider Linkage Allowed

Voters can connect their identity to any state’s previous SIR roll.

✅ Document Relaxation

Documents are needed only if:

You were NOT in any previous SIR record.

✅ Citizenship requirement softened

Citizenship is still necessary, but:

It is not being used as an aggressive filtering parameter.

✅ Aadhaar Still Allowed (as optional document)

Aadhaar remains in the list (after Supreme Court’s intervention).

✅ New Voters (18+)

They can apply using:

Form 6 (EC registration form)
- SIR declaration form

🚫 Consequences of Wrong Entries

Fake Voting
Electoral fraud
Misrepresentation

✅ Why Now?

Increasing migration
Urban movement
Higher death rate recording (post-COVID)
Duplicate digital identities concerns

🗳️ Impact on Democracy

A clean electoral roll:

Protects voter rights
Prevents manipulation
Strengthens transparency

🧾 Conclusion

The Nationwide Special Intensive Revision aims to:

Add eligible voters
Remove fraudulent entries
Create a clean and reliable voter database

This step is crucial as India moves toward major elections.

🧠 Practice Questions

✅ Q1. Why is maintaining a clean Electoral Roll important for Indian democracy? Explain.

✅ Q2. What steps has the Election Commission taken to improve electoral roll accuracy?

✅ Q3. Discuss challenges in maintaining accurate voter lists in India.