The rollout had been delayed due to the assembly elections that took place last month in Kerala, Assam, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal.
Officials indicated that SIR could commence shortly as the electoral process is now concluded.
So far, SIR has been conducted in 10 states and three Union Territories, including Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Puducherry, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, and Bihar.
A ‘special revision’ of electoral rolls has previously occurred in Assam.
Approximately 60 crore of the nearly 99 crore voters have been included in the clean-up efforts of these voters’ lists.
The remaining nearly 40 crore electors are set to be addressed in the upcoming exercise across 17 states and five UTs.
On February 19, the poll authority instructed 22 states and UTs, including Delhi, to expedite preparatory activities related to SIR, anticipating its initiation in April.
Upon completion, all states and UTs will be included in the process.
In a correspondence to the chief electoral officers of various states, the poll authority emphasized that a pan-India SIR of the voters’ list was mandated in June of the previous year.
Due to a range of factors, the SIR schedule has experienced several alterations.
For example, in Bihar, political entities have approached the Supreme Court to contest SIR in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
Recently, TMC president and former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee personally presented her case before the Chief Justice of India regarding the electoral roll cleanup in her state.
As preparations for SIR progressed in Bihar, officials claimed that numerous nationals from Bangladesh, Nepal, and Myanmar were identified by grassroots workers.
However, the poll authority ultimately did not publish any figures or evidence regarding individuals deemed ineligible for the voters’ list.
Opposition parties criticized the claims by the EC, labeling them as a strategy to execute SIR targeting electors not supportive of the BJP and its allies.
The combined voters’ list from nine states and three UTs has been reduced by 10.2% following the SIR initiative led by the Election Commission, which has reportedly removed over 60 lakh deceased voters, according to data shared by the poll authority and state officials.
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When the EC announced phase II of the SIR on October 27, the voter base across the 12 states and UTs was over 50.99 crore.
Post the exercise, the voters’ list now stands at 45.81 crore, indicating a decrease of over 5.18 crore. This translates to a 10.2% reduction in percentage terms.
A total of 66,88,636 deceased electors have been eliminated from the rolls, with Uttar Pradesh accounting for the highest figure at 25.47 lakh, followed by 24.16 lakh in West Bengal.
Additionally, 63.16 lakh names were removed due to objections and adjudications during the SIR exercise.
The second phase of SIR has now been wrapped up, with the final electoral rolls for 10 states and three UTs published on various dates.
Though the exercise had previously concluded in Bihar, the second phase, encompassing nearly 51 crore electors, has now been finalized.
