History
Article 324 of Constitution of India and Section 21 (3) of Representation of the People Act, 1951, ECI has the power to revise the electoral rolls across the country in any state without prior permission from any authority. [6] Intensive revisions have been carried out 13 times; 1952-56, 1957, 1961, 1965, 1966, 1983-84, 1987-89, 1992, 1993, 1995, 2002, 2003 and 2004. [7]
In 2025
In 2025, it has been planned to do it before the upcoming election to the assemblies of states such as West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry in 2026.
ECI suspected that there are several voters in the states of West Bengal, Assam, and Tripura, who are illegal immigrants settled over there coming from neighbouring Bangladesh. They have dual citizenship cards from which they made their voter cards.
Political parties Indian National Congress, All India Trinamool Congress, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Samajwadi Party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Rashtriya Janata Dal protested against this decision by ECI. They made an allegation that ECI is favouring Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party Bharatiya Janata Party to win over the upcoming Assembly elections in different states. [8] [9] [10] TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh even warned ECI and BJP that if any voters name deleted, it would be bad for them. [11] They are also making an allegation that SIR is the part of the implementation of CAA, NRC and NPR, of which several protests were held across the country in 2019. [12] Political leader Prashant Kishore also attacked BJP and Home Minister Amit Shah that no FIR or SIR can help them, if public turns out violent against them. [13] Former Chief Minister of Maharashtra and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray also said that now voters not choose the government, but the government chooses the voters. [14]
Bharatiya Janata Party also made a reply and criticized the opposition leaders for not supporting the SIR process and even said that to detect and deport the immigrants who are illegally voting for many years. [15] [16] BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla attacked Congress and other opposition parties that they are giving an excuse on losing elections and targetting the ECI. [17]
Following the ECI's press conference on 27 October 2025, in 12 states (Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal), the SIR to be conducted in Phase-II after completion in the state of Bihar just before the 2025 Bihar Legislative Assembly election in Phase-I during July 2025. [18]
The conduction of SIR would be done by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) of each polling booth by going to each house and collecting the enumeration forms. The entire process will take place from 28 October 2025 to 31 January 2026. [19] [20]
The Kerala government asked the Supreme Court to defer the SIR, saying it clashes with local body elections and strains administrative staff. The Indian Union Muslim League and Communist Party of India (Marxist) also filed a similar plea. [21] [22] [23] A BLO in Kerala died by suicide, with the family alleging the pressure of SIR-related duties contributed to the incident. [24] [25]
Despite Assam state polls in 2026, the state has not been into the Phase-II of the SIR process. When a reporter asked about it to CEC, he replied that it would be done later with different rules and regulations particularly for the state of Assam. [26]