66 Lakh Names Missing! Nationwide SIR to Roll Out, Political Storm Erupts

National News: The Election Commission (ECI) is moving towards a big and historic step in preparation for the upcoming elections across the country. The Commission is soon going to start a special voter list revision campaign (Special Intensive Revision—SIR) across the country. This process can start from the end of September 2025 to the beginning of October and will last for about a month. This time the amendment in the voter list will be based on the eligibility date of 1 January 2026. The purpose of this special amendment is to make the voter list completely updated, error-free, and transparent so that the preparations for the upcoming 2026 assembly elections in many states, including West Bengal and Assam, as well as the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, can be strengthened.

Election Commission's preparations intensify

The Election Commission has called an important meeting on 10 September 2025 regarding this process. All the Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) and senior officials of the country, as well as technical experts, will attend this meeting.

The following issues will be discussed and decided:

• Setting the timeline of the nationwide campaign
• Approving the final list of documents
• Setting the strategy for door-to-door verification
• Preparing a plan to deal with disputes and legal challenges
• Objective and process of SIR

The Election Commission says that errors, duplicate names and names of dead persons are increasing in the voter list in the last few years. This affects the transparency and credibility of the election process.

The following tasks will be done under this campaign:

Adding names of new eligible voters:

• Registration of people who have completed 18 years of age.
• Adding them by running awareness campaigns among the youth.

Removing wrong names:

• Identifying and removing duplicate names.
• Removing names of dead persons.
• Eliminating entries with wrong or fake addresses.

Door-to-door verification:

• Booth-level officers (BLOs) will go door-to-door to check documents.
• This process will be completely integrated with digital apps and online records.

Publication of final voter list:

• The final list will be published after the revision is completed.
• Controversy from Bihar raises concerns
• Controversy and political tension have already started regarding this process.

Bihar case:

• During the recent special revision in Bihar, about 66 lakh names were removed from the voter list in just one month.
• This led to a huge political uproar in the state.
• Leftist parties termed it an "attack on the Constitution and democracy."
• Many organizations alleged that this process has been done to remove the poor, Dalits, minorities and migrant laborers from the voter list.

Controversy over documents:

• Opposition parties allege that the Election Commission is not recognizing common documents like the Aadhaar card, ration card and EPIC (voter identity card).
• This increases the possibility of deletion of names of people from rural areas and weaker sections.
• This issue may reach the court in many states.

Big impact across the country

This special amendment campaign will have an impact on the upcoming elections across the country:

West Bengal and Assam elections in 2026:

• There is a lot of political activity going on in both the states.
• Correct and updated voter list will be important for the transparency of the elections.

Other assembly elections in 2027:

• Elections are proposed in many big states.
• After this amendment, the new list will be used.

Preparation for the 2029 Lok Sabha elections:

• An updated and error-free list across the country
• Will strengthen the credibility of the Lok Sabha elections.

Way forward

According to Election Commission sources, The final guidelines will be issued after the September 10 meeting.

After this:

• The campaign will start from the last week of September to the beginning of October.
• Ground-level action will be taken through BLO in every state.
• This process will last for about a month.
• The final voter list is likely to be released in late November or early December.

This special revision drive to be held across the country will prove to be an important foundation not only for the upcoming assembly elections but also for the Lok Sabha elections in 2029. However, disputes over documents and political allegations and counter-allegations can make this process challenging. The Election Commission has to ensure that no eligible voter is deprived of the list and the credibility and transparency of the electoral process is maintained.