SIR explained: What Telangana voters need to know

The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has created a lot of interest and confusion among voters. The process involves linking existing voter records to 2002 voter rolls, submitting statements, and in some cases, providing supporting documentation. From the purpose of the exercise to concerns raised by political parties, here are answers to some frequently asked questions:

What is SIR?

Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls was carried out by the Election Commission of India for the purpose of updating and correcting the voter lists. The Election Commission of India’s website states that the SIR was held eight times from 1951 to 2004. The last SIR conducted in what is now Telangana was in 2002. While voter data was collected from scratch in the past, the process has been modernized by making updates to existing data since 2002.

Why is SIR needed?

To preserve the sanctity of the democratic process, voter rolls must be purged to prevent duplication, remove the names of deceased voters, and make corrections to existing data. Its door-to-door approach distinguishes it from the regularly conducted Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls.

What is the process for SIR?

SIR is being conducted with pre-printed counting forms delivered to voters’ doorsteps by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) appointed for each polling station. In Telangana, door-to-door visits of BLOs will start from June 25 and continue till July 24. Each BLO, comprising approximately 1,000 voters, is required to visit each household at least three times during this period to provide census forms, assist with the form-filling process, and collect the forms back. BLO will also assist voters in matching their entries with the 2002 electoral rolls made mandatory in the latest SIR.

In case of new voters, BLOs will provide Form-6 as well as registration declaration form.

The voter can also fill out the form online by accessing the ‘h’ web page.ttps://voters.eci.gov.in’. For this, the voter’s name needs to match the name on the Aadhaar card.

After the completion of door-to-door form collection, the draft electoral rolls will be published on July 31. A month will be given until August 30 to file claims and objections, and the final voter rolls will be published on October 1.

Between 31 July and 28 September is the ‘Notice Phase’, during which the Electoral Registration Officers (ERO) will notify voters whose details cannot be mapped or are mapped with anomalies, and hear claims and objections. Those who receive the notification must apply to ERO at the specified time with the relevant documents to prove their citizenship.

What is pre-SIR mapping?

The preliminary mapping exercise required matching voters in the 2002 SIR with voters in the existing list before a full-scale SIR could be conducted. Pre-mapped voters do not need to submit any documentation for registration during the SIR process, provided the details match.

Voters can search for their names in the 2002 list by accessing the links ‘https://ceotelangana.nic.in’ or ‘h’.ttps://voters.eci.gov.in’. Search criteria that may be used include the voter’s name or relative’s name and type. Partial electoral roll data in PDF format is also hosted on the site to facilitate searching by polling station. Hard copy of the 2002 rolls will be made available to the BLOs during their visit.

If a voter’s name cannot be found in the 2002 rolls, the voter can try to access the voter details of their parents or grandparents; their details must be filled in the numbering form. These details can be tracked on the official website of Telangana Chief Electoral Officer at ‘https://ceotelangana.nic.in’ using names or EPIC numbers as search criteria.

What concerns have political parties expressed?

Political parties have expressed concerns about voters classified as “abnormal”. It is stated that voters are shown as having six children, there are differences in the spelling of names between the 2002 and 2025 voter rolls, the age difference between the father and the child is 15, and the age difference between the grandfather and the grandson is 40.

The parties also requested that State-issued documents, including driver’s licenses and other identification records, be included. Clarification was also sought on whether voters would need to paste their own photographs or whether the form would come pre-printed. Considering that many voters cannot read Telugu, demands have been made for them to be published in English and Urdu.

What challenges do voters face?

Those who move house frequently while living in a rented house also experience uncertainty about the procedure.

Many voters said they had difficulty searching for their names on the website. Some voters, and in some cases their parents, do not seem to remember the constituencies and booth numbers in which they were registered (not a required field) when searching for the 2002 electoral rolls.

It is also common for voters and their parents to be written differently in the 2025 and 2002 voter lists. Questions remain about whether these voters should apply as new voters or request correction of their information through Form 8.

It was published – 19 June 2026 22:14 IST