The Election Commission of India (ECI) launched a crucial two-day Conference of Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) today at the India International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Management (IIIDEM), in Delhi, focusing on nationwide preparations for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The event marks an important step in conducting the nationwide SIR after the successful completion of SIR in Bihar ahead of the assembly elections in the state. The exercise aims to ensure the integrity and accuracy of India’s voter database ahead of future polls.
The ECI is expected to announce the dates of the nationwide SIR after the completion of the two-day Conference.
Presided over by Chief Election Commissioner Shri Gyanesh Kumar, the conference saw the presence of Election Commissioners Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Dr. Vivek Joshi. Top officials from CEOs’ offices across all States and Union Territories (UTs) gathered to review progress on the SIR initiative, a comprehensive exercise aimed at cleansing and updating voter lists to eliminate duplicates, deceased voters, and inaccuracies while enrolling eligible new voters.
This conference was a direct follow-up to the preparatory meeting held on September 10, 2025, where States and UTs presented detailed data on their current elector numbers, the qualifying date of the previous SIR, and the status of electoral rolls from the last completed revision. Today’s deliberations centred on assessing the progress made on mapping current electors with the electors as per the last SIR in the state and UTs, as per a directive issued by the Commission, to identify shifts and discrepancies.
In addition, the ECI scrutinized the appointment and training status of key personnel, including District Election Officers (DEOs), Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs), Booth Level Officers (BLOs), and Booth Level Agents (BLAs). These ground-level functionaries play a vital role in the door-to-door verification process that underpins the SIR.
On October 6, CEC Gyanesh Kumar informed that the SIR of voter lists will be conducted throughout the country. At the September 10 conference, a presentation on the strategies, constraints and best practices adopted was made by the CEO of Bihar, so that CEOs of other states and UTs can learn from their experiences.
ECI is yet to decide whether the nationwide SIR will be done simultaneously or in separate phases for separate states. The commission will have to consider various factors like weather, farming cycles, school examinations, and administrative logistics in deciding the schedule. However, the ECI aims to start the process by the end of this year.
The Election Commission had ordered Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls across the country. It was taken up in Bihar first because of the upcoming assembly elections in the state.
