The Election Commission of India (ECI) has extended the timeline for the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls by one week, giving officials and citizens more time to complete critical voter-list procedures. The decision shifts the publication of the final electoral rolls to February 14, 2026, instead of the earlier February 7 deadline.
Under the revised schedule, the distribution and collection of enumeration forms will now continue until December 11, while the draft electoral rolls will be released on December 16. Voters can file claims and objections from December 16 to January 15, ensuring that any corrections, additions, or deletions can be addressed before the roll is finalized.
The ECI stated that the extension will help strengthen the accuracy and transparency of the electoral process. Officials, especially Booth-Level Officers (BLOs), had been working under intense pressure to complete enumeration and verification on time. The extended timeline is expected to ease their workload and help political party agents complete their checks more thoroughly.
The move comes amid variations in progress across states—while some regions have digitised most of their data, others are still catching up. The extension has also triggered political reactions, with opposition parties like the Trinamool Congress alleging that the initial schedule was rushed and flawed.
For voters across the 12 states and union territories covered under SIR, the additional days offer a valuable opportunity to ensure their details are correctly recorded. With the qualifying date set as January 1, 2026, citizens are encouraged to verify their entries when the draft rolls are published to avoid missing from the final list.
