SIR to cover 16 States, 3 Union Territories in third phase as Election Commission issues direction

New Delhi: The Election Commission has directed that a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) be conducted in 16 states and 3 Union Territories. The schedule for the third phase of the SIR has been finalized taking into account the shared field machinery utilized alongside the ongoing house-listing operations for the Census.

Will SIR Not to be Conducted Yet in Three States/UTs?

In a statement issued on Thursday, the Election Commission clarified that the work of revising voter lists during the third phase of the SIR will not be undertaken in Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. For these three states/Union Territories, the SIR schedule will be announced at a later date—following the completion of the second phase of the Census and after giving due consideration to weather conditions in the upper reaches and snow-bound regions.

During the third phase of the SIR, more than 3.94 lakh Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will conduct door-to-door visits to meet with 36.73 crore voters; they will be assisted in this task by 3.42 lakh Booth Level Agents (BLAs), who were appointed by political parties during the enumeration phase. State/Union Territory-wise details regarding the BLOs and BLAs are provided in Annexure-II.

What Did Election Commission Appeal to Political Parties?

In its statement, the Election Commission noted that the SIR is a participatory process involving all stakeholders—including voters, political parties, and election officials. The Commission has requested all political parties to appoint BLAs for every polling station to ensure their full participation, thereby enabling the SIR to be conducted with complete transparency and the active involvement of political parties.

During the first two phases of the SIR—conducted across 13 states/Union Territories (covering approximately 59 crore voters as of the date the SIR order was issued in the respective regions)—more than 6.3 lakh BLOs and 9.2 lakh BLAs (appointed by political parties) participated in the various stages of the revision process.