The Election Commission of India (ECI) has instructed Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of all states and Union Territories to begin preparations for a nationwide revision of the voter list later this year. The directive came during a special meeting on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) held on Wednesday.

Officials from all states and UTs attended the meeting and presented detailed plans on how they intend to conduct the SIR, including timelines for updating electoral rolls and digitisation status since the last revision.

An official statement noted, “The CEOs gave detailed presentations on the number of electors, the qualifying date of the last SIR, and the electoral roll in their respective states/UTs as per the last completed SIR. They also presented the status of digitisation and uploading of the Electoral Roll on their websites.”

The meeting also reviewed efforts to map current electors against previous rolls and ensure uniform implementation of the Commission’s initiative that no polling station should have more than 1,200 voters. Officials discussed rationalisation of polling stations and suggested documents to make submission easier for eligible voters while preventing ineligible entries. Training and appointment of DEOs, EROs, AEROs, BLOs, and BLAs were also assessed.

The nationwide SIR follows the special voter roll revision conducted in Bihar ahead of the state assembly elections. That exercise, which was fast-tracked for poll preparedness, sparked controversy with opposition parties—including Congress, RJD, and Trinamool Congress—raising concerns over potential deletions of voters from marginalized groups.