Election Commission announces revised SIR schedule for 12 states/UTs, including Kerala
ELECTION Commission of India (ECI) on Sunday revised the schedule for the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in 12 states, including West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
In an official notification, the ECI extended the enumeration deadline to 11 December, from the original deadline of December 4.
Which 12 states/UTs are undergoing the SIR exercise?
The SIR exercise is currently underway in the states and UTs of Uttar Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal.
Check revised SIR dates here:
Enumeration Period: December 11
Rationalisation/Re-arrangement of Polling Stations: December 11
Update of Control Table and preparation of draft roll: December 12-15
Publication of draft electoral roll: December 16
Period for filing claims and objections: December 16 - January 15
Notice Phase: December 16- February 7
Checking health parameters of electoral rolls: February 10
Final publication of electoral roll: February 14
Why is the SIR in Bengal becoming a political flashpoint?
The TMC has repeatedly raised concerns about the SIR process, alleging bias, administrative pressure and lapses in voter roll management. At Friday’s meeting, the party described the Commission’s responses as “outright lies”, widening the rift between the two sides.
Last week, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee publicly voiced “serious concerns” over the SIR and urged the ECI to intervene. With allegations circulating about BLO deaths and excessive workloads, the Commission agreed to meet with the TMC delegation, but Friday’s exchange appeared to deepen tensions rather than resolve them.
The TMC has claimed that 41 people, including BLOs, have died, some allegedly by suicide, since the SIR process began, a charge the BJP has dismissed as "baseless and politically motivated".
Return of Bangladeshis from West Bengal sharpens infiltration narrative
A steady trickle of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh returning to their country through the international border in West Bengal's Hakimpur has morphed into a political flashpoint, sharpening BJP-TMC hostilities over infiltration, contested voter rolls and the Election Commission's high-stakes SIR exercise months before the 2026 assembly polls.
The reverse movement, numerically small but visually potent, has swiftly been weaponised by both sides.
At the India-Bangladesh border in Bongaon in North 24 Parganas district, locals and security personnel report a surge of undocumented Bangladeshis attempting to walk back home since early November, after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls began in West Bengal.
BSF officials said around 150-200 people are returning every day after verification of their details, with around 1,700 having crossed till November 20.
In West Bengal's charged electoral climate, where narrative often outruns fact, the reverse migration at Hakimpur may shape the 2026 election discourse as deeply as the SIR itself.
