15th May | India
On May 14, 2026, the Election Commission of India (ECI) officially launched Phase 3 of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across 16 states and three Union Territories to clean up and build completely fresh voter lists before upcoming regional elections. Chief Election Commission Gyanesh Kumar ordered this massive field operation to ensure that only eligible electors remain registered, effectively targeting inaccuracies caused by rapid urban migration and duplication. The exercise relies on thousands of ground-level officers who will conduct door-to-door verification visits. The rollout begins on May 30, 2026, and will continue in a staggered manner through the end of the year, with final electoral rolls published between September and December 2026. The 16 states included are Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Punjab, Haryana, Odisha, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, and Arunachal Pradesh. The three Union Territories are Delhi, Chandigarh, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, and Himachal Pradesh have been left out for now due to local weather conditions and ongoing Census activities. According to official press statements, this phase handles a massive voter base of 36.73 crore electors. To achieve total accuracy, the operation deploys over 3.94 lakh Booth Level Officers (BLOs) for direct door-to-door enumeration. Additionally, around 3.42 lakh Booth Level Agents (BLAs) have been appointed by political parties to maintain complete transparency throughout the fieldwork. During the initial house-to-house enumeration phase, citizens must fill out specific forms provided by the visiting officers. No physical supporting documents are gathered during the initial collection phase. However, individuals who cannot be linked to existing historical family data will later receive official notices. They will then need to present proof of identity from a permitted list of 12 documents, which now includes the Aadhaar card. Earlier phases in other parts of India resulted in pruning about 10% of the voter lists by eliminating duplicate records and deceased individuals.
