Voter list revision to begin in 12 states from Nov 4 

October 30, 2025

Abhishek Vij

Opposition parties criticized the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists before the Bihar Assembly elections, but the Election Commission maintained it was necessary to ensure only eligible voters participated and to uphold the integrity of the process by removing duplicate and deceased voters.

This process was conducted in Bihar after a 27-year period; a similar time frame has passed since the nationwide voter lists were finalized. Following the completion of this process on September 30th, the final list of approximately 74.2 million voters in Bihar was released. Now, the Election Commission has announced the SIR in 12 states as the next phase of implementing this revision process nationwide. The process will begin on November 4th and be completed by December 4th. The draft list will be released on December 9th, while the final voter list will be released on February 7th.
This process will cover 510 million voters in 12 states: Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, and Puducherry. The new voter lists will now be used in upcoming elections. Elections are scheduled for 2026 in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala, Assam, and Puducherry. The state of Assam has been excluded from this process due to technical reasons.
In Bihar, this work was completed amid accusations and counter-accusations. Even now, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has alleged that the revision of voter lists is being used to deprive people of their right to vote. An attempt is being made to win elections under the pretext of the SIR. Stalin also alleged that 6.5 million people in Bihar lost their voting rights in the previous SIR, and he will not allow this to happen in his state. These people think that they will win the assembly elections by using the pretext of revising these lists to remove the names of working-class people, Scheduled Castes, minorities, and women from these lists. But we will not allow this to happen.
We are monitoring this through two of our agents in every polling area. In fact, the lists must be revised.
There should be no objection to this. The issue is how the revision will be carried out. In the past, those conducting the revision have been accused of bias. In Bihar, there was considerable controversy over the exclusion of Aadhaar cards from the optional list of certificates.
Moving forward, national voter list revisions must be exceptionally thorough and transparent, with clear, well-defined criteria to eliminate errors and doubts. A credible and impartial revision process will inspire nationwide confidence and reinforce the Election Commission’s integrity.