ECI's Special Intensive Revision of Electoral Rolls Being Conducted in Phases with Multiple Safeguards to Protect Eligible Voters

📌 Summary:

• The Election Commission of India (ECI) is conducting a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in phases to make the rolls accurate, up-to-date and free of ineligible or duplicate entries, while ensuring no eligible elector is left out
• Phase I: undertaken in Bihar ahead of the 2025 State Legislative Assembly elections — house-to-house enumeration by Booth Level Officers (BLOs), distribution/collection of enumeration forms, publication of a draft roll, a window for claims and objections, and a final roll after verification
• Phase II (Oct 2025–Apr 2026): nine states + three UTs — Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Puducherry
• Phase III: presently underway/proposed in the remaining States/UTs including NCT of Delhi, per an ECI-notified schedule (subject to revision)
• Safeguards: deletions carried out only after due verification by BLOs; consolidated data on enumeration, additions, deletions and corrections published by ECI and the Chief Electoral Officers

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2 Polity — Election Commission's powers, integrity of electoral rolls, RPA framework and electoral reforms.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• SIR first conducted in Bihar (Phase I) before the 2025 assembly polls
• Enumeration is done house-to-house by Booth Level Officers (BLOs)
• Phase II covered 9 states + 3 UTs; Phase III includes NCT of Delhi
• Process: draft roll → claims & objections → final roll

🔑 Key Term: Special Intensive Revision (SIR) — an intensive door-to-door revision of electoral rolls by the ECI to update and purify the voter list.