Assam, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala and West Bengal will to polls in 2026 and they are amongst the states where the voters' list cleanup exercise will begin first.
The Election Commission has ordered a 'Special Revision' of electoral rolls in Assam, with the final voter list to be published on February 10, 2026. The revision aims to ensure clean and accurate electoral rolls, with house-to-house verification taking place from November 22 to December 20.
The Supreme Court has directed the Bihar State Legal Service Authority to assist voters excluded from the final electoral rolls in filing appeals with the Election Commission.
The Supreme Court will hear on Wednesday a plea filed by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee challenging the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state.
Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee challenged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to resign, citing hypocrisy in Shah's call for 'clean politics' given his past arrest. Banerjee also criticised the Election Commission and defended his party's record.
The decision came amid rising concerns in the city's red-light districts over difficulties in completing SIR enumeration forms.
The Election Commission has said it will allow suspected fake voters to cast their ballots in the Palakkad assembly by-poll, but will take action against them later. The CPI(M), Congress, and BJP have accused each other of enrolling fake voters. The by-poll is scheduled for November 20.
Chandra Kumar Bose, grandnephew of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, criticizes the ongoing electoral roll revision in West Bengal, calling it 'sheer harassment' and lacking clarity.
Despite her special leave petition being pending before the Supreme Court, she was deported to Bangladesh from the Matila transit camp on December 19.
The Election Commission plans to issue new voter identity cards to all electors of Bihar after the completion of the ongoing special intensive revision of electoral rolls in the state.
Meanwhile, allegations and counter claims continued on polling day as well, with Chandy's son -- Chandy Oommen -- claiming that his father and their family had been hounded for over 20 years.
Special Intensive Revision (SIR), the Election Commission's voters' list cleanup exercise, will commence in nine states and three Union territories from Tuesday.
The Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission to provide details regarding the 3.66 lakh voters excluded from Bihar's final electoral roll after a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. The court's direction came after concerns were raised by petitioners about the lack of notice or reasons given to the excluded voters.
Mumbai suburban district saw an addition of 95,630 new voters, taking its tally to 77.81 lakh, while Mumbai city added 18,741 names, raising its voter base to 25.62 lakh.
Over 130 Lok Sabha and 63 Rajya Sabha MPs have signed notices seeking the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alleging partisan conduct and obstruction of electoral fraud investigations.
Votes will be counted on January 16 and the outcome will be keenly watched as the BJP-led Mahayuti will seek to stamp its supremacy in urban landscape, especially in Mumbai, while the Opposition parties will try to redeem themselves after last year's rout in assembly polls.
The Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to publish details of deleted names from the voters list in Bihar, along with reasons for non-inclusion, to enhance transparency in the special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral roll.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accused President Droupadi Murmu of acting on the advice of the BJP and questioned her silence on issues affecting tribal communities in other states. This comes after Murmu raised concerns about the pace of tribal development in West Bengal.
During the presser, Gandhi showed a picture of a woman who appears on the voter list 22 times in 10 booths in the Rai assembly constituency, and said this shows that this was a 'centralised operation'.
The Election Commission of India is preparing for a nationwide special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, following a Supreme Court ruling. This move aims to update voter lists and address concerns about illegal migrants.
The Election Commission is expected to initiate a phased, pan-India special intensive revision (SIR) of the voters' list, prioritizing states with upcoming assembly elections. This cleanup exercise aims to weed out illegal foreign migrants and ensure accurate electoral rolls.
In its instructions issued to the chief electoral officer of Assam, the poll authority said that "software-based" reports should be generated for 'black and white images', 'not to specification images', 'non-human images' and 'no image' entries.
Banerjee is personally present in court room one along with her lawyers. A gate pass was issued in the chief minister's name on Tuesday.
'Rahul Gandhi is not coming to seek votes, but to reach out to people for awareness of their democratic rights.'
The Maha Vikas Aghadi, along with MNS, held a protest march in Mumbai against alleged irregularities in the voters list, claiming it favors the ruling BJP. Key leaders participated and addressed a rally highlighting issues like multiple entries and wrongful deletions.
Top leaders of Maha Vikas Aghadi, including Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray chief Uddhav Thackeray, Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar head Sharad Pawar along with Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray, will lead the Opposition's November 1 protest march in Mumbai against alleged irregularities in voters' lists.
The Election Commission defended its Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise for Bihar's voter list in the Supreme Court, calling it accurate and dismissing allegations of impropriety by political parties and NGOs.
A Trinamool Congress councillor in West Bengal protested being listed as deceased in the draft electoral rolls by walking into a crematorium, highlighting concerns about voter list accuracy ahead of state elections.
'Main chunauti deta hun ke ek naam bhi ghuspaithiya ka bataye jiska SIR mein samne aya ho ya delete hua ho (I challenge you to name even one infiltrator who was identified or deleted in the SIR).'
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in March seeking action against political parties that promise or distribute 'irrational freebies' before elections. The PIL argues that such practices unduly influence voters and undermine the fairness of the electoral process.
Sitting Dalit MLA C C Mukundan from Nattika has openly declared he will contest as an independent after allegedly being denied a CPI ticket for the upcoming Assembly elections, citing party infighting and caste-related issues.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi criticized Home Minister Amit Shah's response to questions on electoral reforms, calling it 'completely defensive' and alleging 'vote chori' (vote theft).
In a unique initiative to speed up the ongoing special intensive revision of electoral rolls, the Pilibhit administration has announced a set of incentives, including a family safari and lunch, for booth-level officers who fills up the maximum number of digitised forms in their respective assembly constituencies.
'I have voted in several elections and now this is the first time I have been told that my vote is not here'
The second phase of the Systematic Integration of Rolls (SIR) in West Bengal is causing distress among elderly, disabled, and vulnerable voters, leading to political accusations ahead of the assembly polls.
Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal are due in 2026.
A West Bengal MLA has stirred controversy by allegedly asking Trinamool Congress workers to ensure that only those Bangladeshi immigrants who support the ruling party in the state find a place in the voters' list.
The Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission to provide details regarding the approximately 65 lakh voters removed from the draft electoral rolls in Bihar, a state preparing for elections. The court's order comes in response to a petition filed by an NGO challenging the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
Maharashtra is set to hold local body elections on December 2 for municipal councils and nagar panchayats. The polls are seen as a test of the ruling coalition's strength after their recent assembly election victory.
A total of 2,208 booths in West Bengal are under the scanner after all the distributed enumeration forms were returned filled up, indicating that there is not a single dead, duplicate or untraceable voter in these booths, EC sources said.
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