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The Election Commission of India (ECI) is all set to announce the schedule for the first phase of the pan-India Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls today. According to multiple reports, the briefing is expected to be held by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar this evening.The Special Intensive Revision or S.I.R. is a large-scale voter list cleanup exercise aimed at verifying voter details, weeding out duplicates, and identifying illegal migrants. The Election Commission of India recently completed the exercise in Bihar, where the final voters’ list with 7.42 crore names was published on September 30."SIR exercise was carried out in line with Article 326 of the Constitution and ECI’s motto of 'no eligible voter to be left out, and no ineligible person to be included in the Electoral rolls'," the Election Commission press releases stated.The commission also kept its window open for any eligible person who still wishes to apply for inclusion of their name in the Electoral Roll. "They can apply up to 10 days before the last date for filing nominations for the election," ECI informed."If any person is not satisfied with the decision of ERO regarding an entry in the final electoral roll, they may, under Section 24 of the RP Act, 1950, file a first appeal before the District Magistrate and a second appeal before the CEO," the release added.According to reports, 10 to 15 states will be covered in the first phase of the SIR. The Election Commission of India will include states that are scheduled to hold assembly elections in 2026, namely Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Assam, and Puducherry. The exercise is expected to begin soon after the announcement.Reports suggested that the States where local body elections are ongoing or due will not be part of the first phase list, as election machinery in those regions will be engaged in other electoral processes. The SIR rollout in these states will be conducted in subsequent phases.The Election Commission of India finalised the roadmap for S.I.R. roll-out following high-level talks with state Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs). The event was held at the India International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Management (IIIDEM) in New Delhi. The conference was led by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alongside Election Commissioners Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Dr. Vivek Joshi. The election commission officers were directed to immediately finalise preparations for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) to ensure accurate voter lists ahead of the elections in the country.One-on-one sessions were also conducted with the Chief Electoral Officers of five states and union territories, including Assam, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, and West Bengal, which will conduct elections soon.Many states, Delhi (2008) and Uttarakhand (2006), have uploaded their last SIR-based voter rolls online, and these previously recorded data will serve as the reference point for mapping and verification in the upcoming SIR exercise.
