New Delhi: The Election Commission’s list of 12 states and Union Territories where Phase II of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists will be conducted includes poll-bound West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Puducherry, but excludes BJP-ruled Assam, where elections are also scheduled for early 2026. The SIR in these states starts 28 October.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar made the announcement—hours after Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that his government would welcome SIR in the state—claiming that the updation of the National Register of Citizen (NRC) in the state under the watch of the Supreme Court was nearly compete.
Kumar also pointed out that Assam has a separate provision in the Citizenship Act, 1955. Under Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, immigrants who entered Assam from Bangladesh prior to 1 January, 1966 are deemed to be Indian citizens, while those who entered between 1 January, 1966 and 25 March, 1971 have to fulfill certain conditions to be conferred citizenship.
It bars citizenship to those who entered Assam after 25 March, 1971. It was a key component of the Assam Accord signed in 1985. In October 2024, the SC had upheld the validity Section 6A.
“As you all know, Indian citizenship law has a separate provision for Assam. And secondly, under the supervision of the Supreme Court, the NRC process is nearly complete there. Under these circumstances, the 24 June order on SIR, which was for the entire country, is not applicable on Assam,” Kumar said, responding to a question at the press conference on Phase II of the SIR.
He said SIR for Assam will be announced separately.
Earlier this year, shortly after the EC’s announcement regarding the SIR in Bihar, the Assam government had reportedly requested the EC to take into account the fact that it was the only state where a Supreme Court-monitored NRC had been prepared. Incidentally, NRC is among the list of 11 admissible documents for inclusion in voter lists under the SIR.
While NRC updation has been carried out in Assam, the process remains stuck in a legal quagmire, with many in the state, including the ruling BJP, questioning the draft list of 19.6 lakh excluded individuals, including Bengali Hindus and Koch Rajbongshis. The Registrar General of India is yet to notify the list as a result.
The SC had in the past turned down pleas for reverification of the draft list, even as the BJP-led state government demanded it. However, in August 2025, the court issued notices to the Centre and the state on a plea seeking a complete reverification. Sarma had said he would be content even if the SC allows reverification of 20 percent of the draft list.
Meanwhile, apart from West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, the states and UTs where phase II of SIR will be rolled out are the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh.
Responding to the EC’s announcement, the Congress said there is a “big question mark” on the credibility of the poll body in light of the developments on SIR in Bihar, where it underwent some procedural changes based on orders of the SC.
“We have not yet received answers to the questions related to the SIR conducted in Bihar so far. The situation was such that the Supreme Court had to step in several times to rectify the SIR in Bihar. The Karnataka SIT has said that a centralised operation was being carried out to strike names from the voter list. We will come to know more after the probe is complete in Karnataka,” Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
Also read:50 lakh names deleted. Bihar loses 6% of voters post-SIR amid Oppn’s allegations of ‘vote chori’