SIR: Door-to-Door Voter Check Planned in Maharashtra Under National Roll Revision
New Delhi, 19th February 2026: The Election Commission of India on Thursday announced a nationwide Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and directed officials to expedite preparations ahead of its expected rollout from April in the remaining states and Union Territories.
In a letter to Chief Electoral Officers of 22 states and UTs, Election Commission Secretary Pawan Diwan said groundwork for the revision must be completed at the earliest. The communication noted that while the exercise has already been conducted in phases elsewhere, the next round is likely to begin soon in regions including Delhi and Karnataka. The poll body had issued an order on June 24 last year mandating SIR across the country.
The first phase of the revision was carried out in Bihar, where the final electoral roll recorded 7.42 crore voters. Under the second phase, the process has been underway since October 28, 2025, in 12 states and Union Territories. In Assam, authorities completed a special revision instead of SIR on February 10.
What the revision involves
The Special Intensive Revision is a door-to-door verification exercise aimed at updating voter lists. Officials collect forms from households to add eligible citizens aged 18 and above, remove names of deceased or relocated individuals, and correct errors in names or addresses. Block Level Officers and Booth Level Agents carry out the verification process.
Voters are required to check their details and submit documents if corrections or additions are needed. Accepted documents include government-issued identity cards, birth certificates, passports, Class 10 mark sheets, residence certificates, Aadhaar cards, caste certificates, land allotment papers, and entries in official registers such as family or national citizen records.
Purpose of the exercise
The Commission said revisions were conducted periodically between 1951 and 2004, but major updates have been pending for the past 21 years. Population migration, duplicate registrations, and names of deceased or ineligible individuals remaining on rolls necessitate a fresh verification to ensure that only eligible voters are listed and no qualified voter is left out.
Phase-two progress
Nine states and three Union Territories began SIR on November 4, 2025, covering about 50.99 crore electors. They were required to publish final rolls by February 7, 2026. So far, only Gujarat, Puducherry, and Lakshadweep have released final lists, recording 4.40 crore, 9,44,211, and 57,607 voters respectively.
Deadlines for other states have been extended. Rajasthan, originally scheduled to publish its list on February 14, will now release it on February 21. Similar extensions were granted earlier to West Bengal until February 28 and Uttar Pradesh until April 10.
