New Delhi/Kolkata: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday announced that the second phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls will begin on Tuesday across 12 states and Union Territories, including West Bengal.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar said the voter lists in these regions will be “frozen at midnight” on Monday, marking the start of the revision process. “All voters on that list will be issued Unique Enumeration Forms by Booth Level Officers (BLOs), containing all relevant details from the current voter register,” Kumar said.
The CEC further informed that voter lists from the 2002–2004 SIR period will also be made accessible to the public on the ECI portal — voters.eci.gov.in — for cross-verification.
The first phase of the revision was conducted in Bihar, which is headed for elections in November. The last comprehensive SIR took place nearly two decades ago.
#SIR 12 States & UTs#ECI #SIRPhase2 pic.twitter.com/JA2CnyWulz
— Election Commission of India (@ECISVEEP) October 27, 2025
Opposition Pushback
The ECI’s move has drawn sharp criticism from several opposition parties. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin alleged that the SIR exercise was “a conspiracy to strip citizens of their voting rights.” He pointed to the controversy in Bihar, where the revision process reached the Supreme Court before the poll panel agreed to accept Aadhaar cards as valid ID proof.
In West Bengal, where the BJP is aggressively preparing for the 2026 Assembly elections, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) has vowed to resist any attempt to “delete valid voters” from the rolls.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who initially declared she would not allow the SIR process in Bengal, later softened her stance, asserting that her government would ensure “no genuine citizen is deprived of voting rights.”
The nationwide revision comes at a politically sensitive time, with the ECI emphasizing transparency, while opposition parties warn of possible disenfranchisement.
