ECI’s nationwide voter roll revision puts accuracy, inclusion in focus
13.39 crore electors classified under ASDD categories; ensuring eligible voters are not excluded remains key challenge
New Delhi: The Election Commission of India’s (ECI) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has triggered a nationwide debate over the need to maintain accurate voter lists while ensuring that no eligible citizen is excluded from the democratic process.
The exercise, aimed at identifying outdated, duplicate and potentially invalid entries, has scrutinised electoral records on a large scale. According to ECI data reported on October 7, 13.39 crore electors were classified under the Absent, Shifted Permanently, Dead and Duplicate (ASDD) and related categories across the three phases of SIR.
Of these, 6.30 crore were categorised as permanently shifted, 3.01 crore as absent or untraceable, 2.80 crore as deceased and 1.02 crore as duplicate electors.
The Commission has clarified that exclusion at the draft stage does not necessarily mean permanent disenfranchisement, and eligible citizens can seek inclusion through the prescribed procedures.
Supreme Court upheld Bihar exercise; inclusion remains a key concern
Unlike routine summary revisions, SIR involves extensive field verification. In Bihar, where the last intensive revision was conducted in 2003, the ECI cited urbanisation, migration, unreported deaths and multiple or defective entries as reasons for undertaking a fresh exercise.
The legality of the Bihar revision was challenged before the Supreme Court. In its May 27, 2026, judgment in Association for Democratic Reforms v. Election Commission of India, the court upheld the ECI’s authority to conduct the exercise under Section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, read with Article 324 of the Constitution. It also examined procedural safeguards and the Commission’s authority to inquire into citizenship for electoral-roll eligibility.
The exercise was subsequently expanded in phases. In May, the ECI announced Phase III covering 16 states and three Union territories, involving more than 3.94 lakh Booth Level Officers and 3.42 lakh Booth Level Agents for 36.73 crore electors. The first two phases had involved more than 6.3 lakh BLOs and 9.2 lakh BLAs, according to the Commission.
Opposition parties and civil-society groups have raised concerns over possible wrongful exclusions. The ECI has emphasised the claims-and-objections process and ordered a special drive to identify and enrol left-out, first-time and young voters in states where SIR has been completed.
The central challenge is to balance accurate electoral rolls with every eligible citizen’s right to vote. The exercise’s credibility will depend on transparent verification and timely resolution of complaints, ensuring that genuine voters can correct errors and restore their names.
