Election Commission's Second Phase SIR Raises Questions

On Monday, Congress leader Pramod Tiwari scrutinized the Election Commission of India's announcement for the second phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) across 12 states and Union Territories. He demanded clarity on the number of 'infiltrators' removed from Bihar's electoral roll during the initial phase.

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar addressed various issues prompting the nationwide SIR, such as voter migration and erroneous inclusions but did not provide specific infiltrator removal numbers from Bihar's list of 7.42 crore electors. Tiwari also criticized the Commission's decision to exclude Assam from the new phase despite its upcoming 2026 Assembly election.

Kumar clarified that separate orders would be issued for Assam due to its unique provisions under the Citizenship Act, with ongoing citizenship verification supervised by the Supreme Court. The second SIR phase will encompass other regions, concluding on February 7, 2026, while Assam follows a distinct process.