12 states & UTs, 51 cr voters: After Bihar, SIR next round from Nov 4, Pg1.

Key Highlights:

• The Election Commission (EC) announced a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in 12 states and Union Territories.
• This revision impacts approximately 51 crore electors, who must submit enumeration forms by December 4 to remain on the draft roll.
• The second phase expands the list of acceptable documents to include Aadhaar and an extract from the Bihar SIR roll.
• The draft roll will be published on December 9, and the final electoral roll on February 7, 2026.

Detailed Insights:

• The SIR aims to address concerns about the purity of electoral rolls due to migration, duplicate registrations, and wrongful inclusions.
• Electors untraceable to the 2002-2005 intensive revision must provide documents proving eligibility, with Booth Level Officers (BLOs) assisting in the process.
• Aadhaar is accepted as proof of identity but not citizenship, while the Bihar SIR roll can verify parents' eligibility.
• Assam is excluded from this phase due to ongoing National Register of Citizens (NRC) processes monitored by the Supreme Court.
• The EC selected states based on preparedness assessed during a conference of Chief Electoral Officers, considering factors like migration and local elections.
• The previous SIR in Bihar concluded on September 30, reducing the number of electors by 6% to 7.42 crore.
• The June 24 SIR order has been challenged in the Supreme Court, questioning the EC's authority to verify citizenship.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Electoral Roll: List of persons registered to vote in an election.
• Enumeration: The process of systematically listing all members of a population.
• Booth Level Officer (BLO): A grassroot level election official responsible for voter registration and verification.