3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Apr 11, 2026 05:30 AM IST
THE ELECTION Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, held in 10 states and three Union Territories so far, has led to the electorate being cut by 5.58 crore or 9.55%.
The second round of the SIR of electoral rolls, which was carried out in nine states and three Union Territories starting October last year, concluded on Friday, with the electorate in these states/UTs being trimmed by 5.37 crore or 10.55%. Including Bihar, where the SIR was held in the first phase, the number of electors has gone down from 58.87 crore to 53.28 crore.
The SIR phase two ended on Friday with the publication of the final electoral roll in Uttar Pradesh, where the number of electors went from 15.44 crore to 13.39 crore, showing a decrease of 13.23%. While the electoral rolls of the other states/UTs were published in February, the EC had given Uttar Pradesh an extension till April 10.
Overall, the electorate in the 12 states/UTs (Rajasthan, Goa, Lakshadweep, Puducherry, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and UP), went from 50.97 crore on October 27, 2025, when the EC announced the SIR, to 45.59 crore post-SIR.
Among the nine states, Gujarat saw the highest cut in electors (13.39%), followed by UP (13.23%), Chhattisgarh (11.77%), West Bengal (11.63%) and Tamil Nadu (11.55%). Overall, Andaman and Nicobar Islands had the highest decrease (16.86%). In Bihar, where the EC had adopted a different methodology, the number of electors had decreased by 6%.
In a break from the annual and pre-poll Special Summary Revisions (SSR), the EC had on June 24, 2025 decided to conduct the SIR for the whole country, starting with Bihar where Assembly elections were due in November.
The EC had said in its order that the last intensive revision was carried out about 20 years ago and the rapid urbanisation and migration since then had necessitated a clean-up of the rolls.
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As opposed to the SSR, where additions and deletions are made to the existing roll, in an intensive revision, the rolls are prepared afresh. In previous intensive revisions, the EC officials, usually Booth Level Officers (BLOs), went house to house with an enumeration register to check the number and details of electors. However, the EC adopted an unprecedented method for the SIR exercise, requiring all electors to submit an enumeration form within a one-month deadline, or face deletion in the draft roll.
The EC also required certain categories of electors to submit documents to establish their eligibility, including citizenship, which was also an unprecedented method.
The EC’s June 24, 2025 order has been challenged in the Supreme Court, with critics terming the SIR a check of citizenship through the back door. The EC has announced that it will start the SIR in the remaining states/UTs soon.
