The Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has, so far, reduced the electorate by 5.58 crore across 10 states and three Union Territories, with Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh registering some of the sharpest cuts.
The second phase of the exercise, held in nine states and three UTs from October 2025, ended Friday with the publication of Uttar Pradesh’s final electoral roll. As per a report by the Indian Express, the electorate in these states and UTs fell by 5.37 crore or 10.55%. Including Bihar, where SIR was conducted in the first phase, the number of electors covered so far has dropped from 58.87 crore to 53.28 crore.
What has changed after the latest SIR phase?
Uttar Pradesh, which got an extension until April 10, saw its electorate fall from 15.44 crore to 13.39 crore, a drop of 13.23%, the report said. Across the 12 states and UTs covered in phase, the electorate went from 50.97 crore on October 27, 2025, when the EC announced the SIR, to 45.59 crore after the exercise.
Among the states, Gujarat recorded the steepest fall at 13.39%, followed by Uttar Pradesh at 13.23%, West Bengal at 11.63%, Chhattisgarh at 11.77% and Tamil Nadu at 11.55%, as per the Indian Express. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands witness the sharpest overall drop at 16.86%. In Bihar, where a different methodology was used, the electorate fell by 65.
Why is the exercise under scrutiny?
The Election Commission decided on June 24, 2025, to conduct the SIR across the country, stating the last intensive revision was held about 20 years ago and that migration and urbanisation made a fresh clean-up necessary.
Unlike the annual Special Summary Revision, which updates existing rolls, the SIR involves preparing the rolls afresh. The electors were asked to submit enumeration forms within a month or risk omission from the draft roll. Some categories were also required to provide eligibility documents, including proof related to citizenship. The EC’s order has been challenged in the Supreme Court.
Why has West Bengal drawn attention?
The Indian Express reported that in 44 of West Bengal’s 293 constituencies, the number of voters deleted during verification is higher than the winning margin in the 2021 Assembly polls. Of these seats, 24 were won by the TMC and 20 by the BJP.
The report mentioned that seats such as Samserganj, where 74,775 voters were deleted despite the TMC’s 2021 winning margin being 26,111. In Balarampur, 1,037 deletions exceeded the BJP’s margin of 273. In Nandigram, 3,461 voters were found eligible after verification.
Uttar Pradesh final roll
Uttar Pradesh’s final roll stood at 13,39.84,792 voters. Chief Electoral Officer Naveen Rinwa stated, as per PTI, that this was 84,28,767 higher than the draft roll published on January 6, 2026. The combined electoral rolls of 12 states and UTS shrank by nearly 6.08 crore, from around 51 crore to 44.92 crore, after the SIR exercise.