Now Reading: EC may order electoral roll revision in October for five states
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EC may order electoral roll revision in October for five states
The Election Commission is likely to order a special summary revision (SSR) of electoral rolls in October for Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur, with January 1, 2027 as the qualifying…
The Election Commission is likely to order a special summary revision (SSR) of electoral rolls in October for Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur, with January 1, 2027 as the qualifying date. Assembly polls in these states are due in February-March 2027, and updated rolls must be published by January 2027 under Section 21 of the Representation of the People Act.
The EC is unlikely to order a nationwide SSR this year because the third phase of the special intensive revision (SIR) is underway in 19 states and union territories, and the Census exercise is ongoing. The first phase of Census was scheduled from April 1 to September 30, 2026, while the second phase is underway in Ladakh and snow-bound areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The EC's decision to restrict the SSR to poll-bound states reflects the practical difficulty of running a nationwide revision alongside a Census and the SIR programme. The Census first phase, originally scheduled from April to September 2026, creates a simultaneous data collection burden on ground staff. The RP Act's Section 21 requires the rolls to be updated before each election, so the January 2027 publication deadline is legally binding for the five states. The key question is whether the EC will complete the revision in time for the February-March 2027 polls without errors, given that the SIR Phase 3 in 19 states and the Census both demand administrative bandwidth. The EC's own commissioners reportedly flagged the absence of a nationwide SSR since January 2025, but the phased approach suggests the commission is prioritising poll readiness over uniform revision.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
