The ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls—a process that has swept across nine Indian states and three Union Territories since early November—has become a flashpoint for political controversy, administrative strain, and public anxiety. What began as a routine exercise to update voter lists before major elections has, in recent weeks, ignited fierce debate among political parties, spurred legal challenges, and, tragically, been linked to stress-related deaths among Booth Level Officers (BLOs) tasked with carrying out the revisions.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) ordered the nationwide SIR on June 24, 2025, starting with Bihar due to its impending polls. Bihar’s final roll, published on September 30, revealed a striking 6% drop in electors—a statistic that instantly set off alarm bells across the political spectrum. With the enumeration phase for the remaining 12 states and Union Territories running from November 4 to December 4, all eyes have turned to states like Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, where the process has taken on unmistakable political overtones.
In Bihar, the SIR required anyone not found on the 2003 intensive revision roll to provide one of 11 specific documents. For the rest of the country, the ECI tweaked the process: electors now fill out a new form giving details of themselves or an adult relative from the last intensive revision roll, but aren't required to submit documents during the initial enumeration. Instead, BLOs must physically search through old rolls—sometimes from any state or Union Territory—to verify each elector or their family members, then record the corresponding serial number on the form. If the relevant section is left blank, notices will be issued after the draft roll is published on December 9, at which point documents will be sought. This procedural shift, while making things easier for voters, has dramatically increased the workload for BLOs.
The human cost of this increased burden has become painfully clear. Reports have surfaced of at least five suicides among BLOs, including cases in West Bengal and Rajasthan, with notes pointing to stress from the SIR workload. The scale and speed of disciplinary action against BLOs has also accelerated: in Bihar, 39 BLOs were suspended and 42 FIRs filed during the three-month SIR. Yet in just one week in Uttar Pradesh, over 60 FIRs were filed in Noida alone, according to ECI sources. While the Commission maintains it hasn't issued specific instructions to states to initiate FIRs, the message on the ground is unmistakable—mistakes or delays are being met with swift, sometimes severe, consequences.
Against this tense backdrop, the ECI has also rolled out a digital option for the SIR enumeration form, aiming to streamline the process and reduce paperwork. As of late November, electors can access the form online via the ECI or CEO West Bengal websites, or through the ECINET app. The digital workflow is designed to be user-friendly: voters log in through the Voters' Service Portal, select their state, enter their EPIC (2025) number, and complete OTP verification. The portal then asks whether their name or their parents' names appeared on the previous SIR roll, displaying prior information or requesting new data as needed. A preview of the completed form is generated for review, followed by Aadhaar verification and a final attestation. Only the elector can complete the online SIR form, which requires an Aadhaar-based e-signature and a mobile number linked to the EPIC for OTP verification. If the number isn't linked, voters must update their details using Form 8.
But while the digital system attempts to make life easier for voters, it has done little to quell the political storm or address the mounting concerns of those on the front lines. Nowhere is this more evident than in Uttar Pradesh, where the Congress party has voiced fears that the SIR is being used as a tool to target opposition strongholds. The INDIA bloc—comprising Congress and the Samajwadi Party—won 43 of 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state in the 2024 national elections, a result that saw the BJP’s tally drop from 62 in 2019 to just 33.
"This is the planning of the BJP. They reduced thousands of votes of the opposition in Bihar. We had raised several questions related to SIR in Bihar, but the EC has not come out with any clarification on the same. Now the same SIR is being rushed through Uttar Pradesh. The real aim of the exercise is to cut significant votes of the opposition in the parliamentary seats won by the INDIA bloc in 2024. This is being done with the 2027 elections in mind," said Avinash Pande, All India Congress Committee in charge of UP, to ETV Bharat.
Congress Lok Sabha MP Tanuj Punia has even filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking to extend the duration of the SIR in Uttar Pradesh, citing numerous complaints from his constituency and the overwhelming workload faced by BLOs. "The BLOs are overworked, and the voters are facing several issues. For instance, locating their names in the 2003 list is a problem for many voters. Elsewhere, the daughters-in-law are being asked to submit the polling data of their parents or grandparents, which is difficult to arrange at short notice. The state has over 15 crore voters, and how this entire exercise can be done in a limited period is a concern," Punia told ETV Bharat.
The Congress party has also raised alarms about the proposed establishment of detention centers in Uttar Pradesh, framing the move as a political ploy by the BJP to polarize voters. "This is a bogey being raised by the ruling party for its political gains. Identifying foreign nations was never the goal of the SIR. They said so in Bihar, but have not given details. The same will happen here. The SIR and the infiltrators issue will be raised majorly by the opposition in the coming winter session of parliament," said Punia.
Meanwhile, in West Bengal, Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairperson Mamata Banerjee has unleashed a torrent of criticism against both the BJP and the ECI over the SIR. Speaking at a massive rally in Bongaon on November 25, Banerjee assured the Matua community, "Till I am here, I will not allow them to throw you out. Nobody can throw you out." She questioned why SIR was not being conducted in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh if the concern truly was about "Bangladeshi" voters, suggesting selective targeting. Banerjee also alleged that voters in Matua-majority areas would be "immediately delisted" if declared foreigners under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), and claimed that 35 to 36 people had died as a result of the ECI’s "unplanned" electoral roll purge.
Banerjee accused the ECI of acting as a "BJP Commission," and warned, "If your name gets deleted, the Central government should also be deleted," referencing the same voter list used in the 2024 elections. She further blamed the BJP-led Central government for illegal infiltration, pointing out that border security falls under central jurisdiction. Banerjee’s rally, which included a three-kilometer walk through Matua heartland, was as much a show of political strength as a warning shot to her rivals.
As the SIR process nears its next milestone—the publication of the draft roll on December 9—the country finds itself at a crossroads. What was intended as a technical and administrative update has become a crucible for deeper questions about democracy, fairness, and the very nature of citizenship. The coming weeks will reveal whether these tensions can be resolved or if the SIR will leave a lasting mark on India’s electoral landscape.
