The revised dates are expected to provide additional room for verification, although stakeholders remain vigilant about how the process unfolds.
Published Nov 30, 2025 | 1:55 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 30, 2025 | 1:55 PM
Election Commission of India (ECI) (Wikimedia Commons)
Synopsis: Amid mounting controversy over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, the Election Commission of India issued a revised schedule for the exercise in several states, including Kerala and Tamil Nadu, slightly altering key deadlines.
Amid mounting controversy over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has issued a revised schedule for the exercise in several states, including Kerala and Tamil Nadu, slightly altering key deadlines.
According to the updated timetable, the enumeration period and the rationalisation or rearrangement of polling stations must now be completed by 11 December 2025.
On 26 November, the ECI had told the Supreme Court that there was no need for postponing the SIR in Kerala since 99 percent of voters had already received the forms.
The ECI made the submission while the court was hearing Kerala’s plea, seeking immediate postponement of SIR since it overlapped with elections to local self-government bodies in the state.
The updation of the control table and preparation of the draft roll will be undertaken from 12 to 15 December 2025, followed by the publication of the draft electoral roll on 16 December 2025.
The filing of claims and objections will run from 16 December 2025 to 15 January 2026, while the notice phase — covering issuance, hearings, verification, and decisions on enumeration forms as well as claims and objections — will continue until 7 February 2026.
Verification of the electoral roll’s health parameters and permission from the Commission must be completed by 10 February 2026, paving the way for the final publication of the electoral roll on 14 February 2026.
This marks a shift from the earlier schedule, which had set 9 December 2025 for draft roll publication, 8 January 2026 as the end of the claims and objections window, and 7 February 2026 for the final roll’s publication.
Officials said the modifications were necessitated to streamline procedures amid administrative concerns, even as political parties continue to question the timing and transparency of the SIR exercise.
The revised dates are expected to provide additional room for verification, although stakeholders remain vigilant about how the process unfolds in the coming weeks.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil with inputs from Dileep V Kumar.)
