SIR Deadline Extended Again: ECI Grants Relief to 6 States as Crisis Mounts

The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced a second extension for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls today, December 11, 2025, granting additional time to five states and one Union Territory. Uttar Pradesh received the longest extension until December 26, while Tamil Nadu and Gujarat have until mid-December to complete enumeration. This frantic rescheduling comes just a week after a previous nationwide extension, acknowledging that the massive exercise covering 51 crore voters is faltering under the weight of technical glitches and a humanitarian crisis involving the deaths of at least 16 polling officers.

The Context (How We Got Here)

Launched in November with an ambitious two-month timeline, the SIR was intended to "purify" voter lists ahead of the 2026 elections. However, the process quickly unraveled. Reports of overwhelmed Booth Level Officers (BLOs) working 12-hour shifts, portal crashes preventing data uploads, and a lack of training for contractual staff have plagued the rollout. The initial confidence of the ECI has given way to reactive crisis management, as the sheer scale of verifying legacy data from 2002 clashes with the reality of an under-resourced digital infrastructure.

The Key Players (Who & So What)

• Election Commission of India: The architect under pressure. By issuing differentiated extensions, the ECI is tacitly admitting that a "one-size-fits-all" timeline was unrealistic. Its decision to deny West Bengal further time, despite it being a flashpoint of controversy, raises questions about whether political optics are overriding operational needs.
• Booth Level Officers (BLOs): The casualties. Frontline workers are paying the highest price, with unions attributing a spike in suicides and heart attacks to the "inhumane" targets set by the commission.
• Chief Electoral Officers (State-level): The realists. Their formal requests for more time exposed the disconnect between Delhi's planning and the ground reality in states like UP and Tamil Nadu.

The BIGSTORY Reframe

While headlines focus on "extensions," the deeper story is the "Planning Paralysis." The ECI had data from the earlier Bihar pilot project showing that such an intensive revision takes months, yet it proceeded with a truncated national timeline. This isn't just a delay; it's a systemic failure of project management. By ignoring the lessons of Bihar and failing to deploy predictive AI tools for capacity planning, the commission has created a bottleneck that threatens to derail the entire 2026 election calendar. The extension is a band-aid; the wound is a lack of foresight.

The Implications (Why This Changes Things)

The repeated delays jeopardize the final publication of the electoral roll, now slated for February 14, 2026. Any further slippage could compress the campaign period for state elections, triggering legal challenges. Moreover, the differentiated treatment of states—giving UP more time while holding Bengal to a tighter deadline—could fuel allegations of bias. For the millions of voters waiting to verify their status, the uncertainty continues, with the risk of error rising as exhausted officials rush to meet moving targets.

The Closing Question (Now, Think About This)

If the machinery of democracy is breaking the people who run it, is the cost of a "perfect" voter list too high?

FAQs

Why did the Election Commission extend the SIR deadline? The ECI extended the deadline due to severe operational bottlenecks, including slow data digitization, portal glitches, and requests from state Chief Electoral Officers citing the inability to complete door-to-door verification on time.

Which states got the deadline extension? In the second round of extensions announced on December 11, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Andaman & Nicobar Islands received additional time. West Bengal did not receive a further extension.

What is the new deadline for Uttar Pradesh? Uttar Pradesh has been granted the longest extension, with the enumeration deadline moved to December 26, 2025.

How many BLOs have died during the SIR process? Reports indicate that at least 16 Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have died across the affected states within the first six weeks of the exercise, with many deaths attributed to extreme work pressure and stress.

Sources

News Coverage

• New Indian Express – Election Commission extends SIR schedule by a week
• Indian Express – EC extends SIR in 6 states
• DD News – ECI extends SIR deadlines by one week
• Economic Times – ECI extends SIR timeline by one week for 12 states

Research & Analysis

• Indian Currents – Review the Process of SIR: Death of Many BLOs Due to Work Pressure
• Chennai Online – Voters face glitches on ECI SIR website