NEW DELHI: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday extended the timeline of the ongoing Special Intensive Review (SIR) of electoral rolls in Andhra Pradesh and Haryana, keeping July 31 as the date for publication of draft electoral rolls.
The decision came after the poll panel accepted requests from top electoral officials of the two states to review the schedule for the exercise to be carried out from July 1, 2026, as the qualifying date.
According to the revised schedule, booth-level officials will now continue the house-to-house verification process until July 24. The rationalization and rearrangement of polling stations will also be completed by the same date, giving election officials additional time to finish the field-level exercise before the draft lists are published.
The draft electoral lists will be published on July 31 as planned. Voters will be able to submit claims and objections between July 31 and August 30, while electoral authorities will dispose of these applications by September 28. The final electoral lists are scheduled to be published on October 3.
In separate letters issued to chief electoral officers of Andhra Pradesh and Haryana, the Commission has instructed officials to ensure widespread publicity of the revised schedule through all available media. It also directed that recognized political parties be informed in writing of the changes.
The SIR exercise aims to update electoral rolls through extensive field verification, scrutiny of voter records and settlement of claims and objections before finalizing the rolls. This review is part of the Commission’s broader efforts to improve the accuracy of electoral lists before the next elections.
The extension of the election mechanism in both states is expected to provide additional time to complete door-to-door verification and other preparatory work without changing the overall timeline for publication of final electoral rolls in early October.
