EC announces Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls in six states and Union Territories

The Election Commission on November 5 announced the annual Special Summary Revision (SSR) of electoral rolls in six states and Union Territories, including Arunachal Pradesh, with the final electoral rolls scheduled to be published on January 21, 2027.

The exercise will cover Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Mizoram, Odisha and Sikkim. It aims to enrol eligible voters, particularly young and first-time electors, and facilitate advance applications from those who will become eligible on April 1, July 1 and October 1, 2027.

According to the Commission, the draft electoral rolls will be published on November 30, while the final rolls will be released on January 21, 2027.

The poll panel has also issued safeguards for the deletion of entries. Applications seeking deletion must undergo field verification in cases involving repeated or multiple entries. Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) will be required to personally cross-check deletions exceeding two per cent of electors at a polling station, as well as cases where the same objector submits more than five objections.

The Commission clarified that furnishing Aadhaar details in Forms 6 and 8 will remain voluntary. No application for enrolment can be rejected, and no existing entry can be deleted, solely because an applicant or elector fails to provide Aadhaar details.

On October 15, the Election Commission had announced the SSR exercise in 17 states, including poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur, Goa and Punjab.

In a first, the Commission had also decided to share electoral rolls with political parties in a readable PDF format instead of image files.

The Commission has directed the chief secretaries of the concerned states and Union Territories to ensure that adequate manpower and resources are made available for the revision exercise.