Phase 3 of SIR exercise in Maharashtra from June 30, final list on Oct 7

PUNE: Maharashtra will be part of the phase III of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise rolled out by the Election Commission of India with door-to-door verification by booth-level officers scheduled between June 30 and July 29. The final electoral rolls will be published on Oct 7.

The commission on Thursday announced the rollout of the nationwide phase III exercise covering 16 states and three Union Territories. The schedule has been aligned with the ongoing census house-listing exercise as both processes rely on the same field machinery. Maharashtra has 9.86 crore electors as of May 12, 2026.

SIR Phase-2 had seen net deletions of 10.2% electors across 12 states/UTs, bringing down their combined electorate to 45.8 crore from nearly 51 crore.

Andaman and Nicobar saw highest percentage of net purification of electors at 16.6%, followed by UP (13.2%), Gujarat (13.1%), Chhattisgarh (11.3%), West Bengal (10.9%), Tamil Nadu (10.6%), Goa (10.2%), Puducherry (7%), Madhya Pradesh (5.7%), Rajasthan (5.4%), Kerala (2.5%) and Lakshadweep (0.3%).

The Chief Electoral Officer's senior staff in the state told TOI that preparatory work for the pre-SIR exercise was underway. "Around 70% mapping has been completed. The work will continue this month as well. However, since staff are also required for census duties, SIR's timeline has been adjusted accordingly," they said.

The qualifying date for the revision has been fixed as Oct 1, 2026, making citizens who attain 18 years of age on or before eligible for inclusion in the voters' list.

Officials added that the revision process would not clash with census operations. "The work will not conflict with the house-listing exercise scheduled from May 16 to June 14. Mapping work from the election officials' side will continue during this period as well," they added.

Census officials had earlier told TOI that they had requested the state govt to request the ECI to schedule the activity after the house-listing phase of the census. "We would require staff and hence the request,'' the official said. Election officials said that the house-listing activity will end on June 14 following which SIR work will start.

As per the schedule, preparation, training and printing work in Maharashtra will be carried out from June 20 to June 29. The draft electoral roll will be published on Aug 5, followed by a claims and objections period till Sept 4. Disposal of claims and objections will continue till Oct 3.

The ECI described the SIR as a "participative exercise" involving electors, political parties and election officials, and urged parties to appoint booth-level agents (BLAs) at every polling booth.

Over 3.94 lakh BLOs and 3.42 lakh BLAs will be deployed to cover more than 36.73 crore electors in 16 states and three UTs.

In the earlier phases that covered 13 states and UTs with nearly 59 crore electors, over 6.3 lakh BLOs and 9.2 lakh BLAs were involved.