Election Commission Orders Special Summary Revision Of Voter Rolls In 17 States, UTs
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday released an Election Roll Maintenance (REM) notification to revise the electoral lists including those of youth voters and those eligible to vote but couldn’t register during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) controversy, in 17 states and Union Territories.
The states and Union Territories include West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Bihar and Tamil Nadu. January 1, 2027, has been set as the qualifying date for voter eligibility. The draft electoral rolls will be published on November 12, while the final rolls are scheduled for release on January 4, 2027. Uttar Pradesh and Punjab are expected to hold assembly elections by February 2027.
The decision came at a time when protesters are demanding that the SIR process be scrapped and that voters’ names have been wrongly deleted. Opposition leaders have also raised concerns about the need for a new declaration with Form 6 for the SIR exercise, which called for the identification of the parents of the applicants in the previous SIR exercise, which took place some 20 years ago.
The INDIA bloc parties and the youth group Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) have been protesting in the national capital, demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
17 States and UTs Covered Under the Revision
The order by the EC on Thursday said the SSR will be applicable in the states of Andaman and Nicobar, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Puducherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.
Eligible applicants will have to submit Form 6 for inclusion in the electoral rolls. The latest order does not mention the additional declaration associated with the SIR process.
In a clarification issued on October 7, the Commission said the additional declaration applied only to states and Union Territories where the SIR was being conducted. During periods without the SIR exercise, the regular forms prescribed under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, would apply.
The dispute over the additional declaration is also among the issues being considered by the Supreme Court.
EC Introduces Safeguards Against Wrongful Deletions
The Commission’s order outlines several safeguards intended to prevent the incorrect removal of voters’ names.
Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) must personally verify proposed deletions if they exceed 2 per cent of the total electorate in an area. Personal verification will also be required when a single objector files objections in more than five cases.
The order refers to the Commission’s October 9 communication limiting the number of Form 7 applications an individual voter can submit. Form 7 is used to request the deletion of a name from the electoral rolls, and the restriction aims to discourage bulk filing of applications.
The EC has further directed that the names of voters who have permanently shifted or died can be removed only after a Form 7 application is received. For every deletion, the ERO must issue a reasoned order after hearing the person concerned and upload the order on the ECINET platform.
Booth Level Agents (BLAs) of recognised political parties can submit up to 10 forms per day to a Booth Level Officer (BLO). If an agent submits more than 30 forms during the claims period, the ERO will be required to cross-verify the applications personally.
The Commission has also directed that lists of claims and objections be published on the websites of Chief Electoral Officers and shared with political parties every week.
SSR Schedule for Other States to Be Announced Later
The EC said the schedule for the Special Summary Revision would be announced later in states and Union Territories where the SIR is underway or has recently been completed.
These include Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, the National Capital Territory of Delhi, Odisha, Sikkim, Tripura and Telangana.
For Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, where the SIR has not yet begun, the schedule for electoral roll revision will be announced in due course, taking local weather conditions into account.
The latest order places renewed emphasis on voter inclusion while establishing additional checks on the deletion of names from electoral rolls.