The Election Commission of India on Monday announced that the second phase of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls will be conducted in twelve states and Union territories.

The states and Union territories where the Special Intensive Revision will begin from tomorrow are Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Goa, Puducherry, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana.

Among these, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, and West Bengal are set to go to the polls in 2026.

Addressing a press conference in Delhi, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said that draft rolls will be published on December 9, and the final electoral rolls will be released on February 7, 2026.

"Phase two of SIR will cover 51 crore voters. While the enumeration process will begin on November 4, the draft rolls will be published on December 9 and final electoral rolls on February 7," Kumar said.

He explained that the main aim of the Special Intensive Revision is to identify and remove foreign illegal migrants by verifying individuals’ place of birth. The exercise is significant as several states are currently carrying out crackdowns on undocumented migrants, especially those from Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Kumar also clarified that in Assam, where elections are also due in 2026, the revision of electoral rolls will be announced separately.

He further stated that local body elections have not yet been notified in Kerala, which is why the Special Intensive Revision has been announced there as well.

Kumar also reacted to recent remarks made by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on the voter roll revision and said, "Aadhaar is not a proof of date of birth."

He added that "BLOs will visit every house thrice" during the verification process to ensure the accuracy of voter information.

The Election Commission had earlier completed the first phase of the Special Intensive Revision in Bihar without a single appeal. The Chief Electoral Officer of Bihar had confirmed that during the campaign in all 243 Assembly Constituencies, no appeals were received by District Magistrates regarding additions or deletions made by the Electoral Registration Officers.

On September 30, while publishing the final electoral list for poll-bound Bihar, the Election Commission said that the total number of electors had decreased by nearly 47 lakh to 7.42 crore in the final electoral roll from 7.89 crore before the revision. However, the final figure had increased by 17.87 lakh from 7.24 crore electors named in the draft list issued on August 1, which had removed 65 lakh names due to deaths, migration, and duplication.

A total of 21.53 lakh new electors were added to the draft list, while 3.66 lakh names were removed, leading to a net increase of 17.87 lakh voters.

The assembly elections in Bihar will be held in 121 constituencies of the 243-member Assembly on November 6, while the remaining 122 constituencies will go to polls on November 11. The counting of votes will take place on November 14.

The announcement of the second phase of SIR drew a range of political reactions.

Reacting to the announcement, Union Minister and West Bengal BJP President Sukanta Majumdar said, "SIR was announced today in 12 states, including Bengal, and the process will start from tomorrow. The Election Commission had already announced that SIR was going to happen. Some people were jumping around in Bengal over this... now let's see what those people will do because SIR has to happen anyway. Even before this, SIR has been done 12 times..."

Meanwhile, former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister and Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel criticised the Election Commission and questioned its claim about identifying foreign citizens. He said, "The announcement of SIR in Chhattisgarh has been made, but the Election Commission should tell how many Bangladeshis have been identified in Bihar... how many people have been excluded? Because through SIR, these people are talking about driving out foreign citizens... Even till now, the Union Home Ministry has not been able to tell how many people from Pakistan are living in Chhattisgarh..."

Congress leader Pawan Khera also questioned the Election Commission’s intent behind the second phase of the revision drive. He said, "The Election Commission is yet to respond to the questions we raised after the Bihar SIR. The Supreme Court had to intervene multiple times as the intentions of the EC and the BJP were not right. In Bihar, 65 lakh voter names were deleted and not a single one was added. Conducting SIR in 12 states now, when opposition parties and voters are dissatisfied, is not right."

Supporting the Election Commission’s move, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said that the voter list revision is an important exercise to ensure transparency. "To sanitise the voter list, delete the names of deceased, migrated voters and foreign infiltrators is such an appreciable process," Rijiju said. He added that the Opposition should understand that the EC is doing good work and "it should be appreciated, not challenged."

The West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer is scheduled to hold a press conference on Tuesday at 6 pm regarding the rollout of the Special Intensive Revision process in the state.