Jammu & Kashmir set for SIR of voter rolls from April

Srinagar: The Election Commission of India (ECI) is set to launch the next phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across the country from April 2026, with the exercise in the Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory (UT) expected to begin then.

The Commission has directed Chief Electoral Officers of 22 States and UTs (including J&K) to complete preparatory work for the intensive voter-list update ahead of the proposed April start.

The SIR is a detailed, door-to-door revision of voter lists aimed at updating and cleaning electoral rolls by identifying duplicate records, removing names of deceased or shifted persons, and including newly eligible electors. Unlike the annual summary revision that makes incremental changes to the rolls, SIR involves large-scale enumeration and verification.

The Commission first ordered the Special Intensive Revision on June 24, 2025, and piloted the exercise beginning with the Bihar voter rolls later that year as part of its nationwide rollout.

After the Bihar phase, where the exercise was completed ahead of that state’s 2025 Assembly polls, a second phase was launched on October 27, 2025, covering 12 States and UTs including West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and others. The final voter lists for these areas are being finalised, with publications extended into February 2026.

In its latest round, the ECI has informed election officials to expedite preparatory steps such as training Booth Level Officers (BLOs), updating polling station data and addressing logistical needs so that the April SIR can be implemented smoothly.

Controversies and political pushback

The SIR process has drawn sharp political reactions in some regions, with opposition parties arguing that the exercise could lead to mass deletions of names and potential disenfranchisement. In J&K, the Congress has publicly vowed to strongly oppose the SIR, alleging that the methodology is being misused and questioning its feasibility given the UT’s harsh winter conditions, making door-to-door work difficult. Party leaders have termed the SIR as a potential tool for arbitrary exclusions.

Similar controversies have emerged elsewhere. In the recently concluded phases, political parties in several states raised objections over alleged opaque criteria for deletions and the possible exclusion of eligible voters lacking documents. In some cases, state governments have even sought judicial intervention to oversee elements of the revision process.

The ECI, for its part, has maintained that SIR is a legally sanctioned and routine process — last conducted comprehensively in the early 2000s — and that it provides multiple safeguards including publication of draft rolls and an extensive claims and objections period before finalisation.

With Assembly elections due in several states in 2026 and 2027, the upcoming SIR is likely to influence the shape of the electorate. The Commission’s emphasis on completing preparatory work underlines the administrative and political magnitude of the exercise as it moves beyond initial states into a wider national phase beginning April 2026.