New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has released the schedule for a special drive to enrol eligible young and first-time voters who have been left out of the electoral rolls. The Commission has announced a Special Summary Revision (SSR) of electoral rolls, with January 1, 2027, fixed as the qualifying date. The final electoral rolls are scheduled to be published on January 4, 2027.
The Election Commission has written to the Chief Electoral Officers of 17 states and Union Territories, including the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Puducherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal. The revision will be conducted under Section 21 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.
According to the Commission, besides facilitating the enrolment of eligible voters based on the January 1, 2027, qualifying date, advance applications will also be accepted for the three subsequent qualifying dates of April 1, July 1, and October 1, 2027. Instructions have already been issued to conduct special enrolment drives for eligible voters who have been left out, particularly young and first-time voters. The revision will also apply to states where Assembly elections are scheduled to be held early next year.
According to the schedule, the rationalisation and rearrangement of polling stations will be carried out from November 2 to November 12, 2026. This will be followed by the publication of the integrated draft electoral rolls. The period for filing claims and objections to the draft rolls will run from November 12 to December 11, 2026. All claims and objections are to be resolved by December 28, 2026.
Clarifying its official position on the use of Aadhaar numbers, the ECI stated that applicants may voluntarily provide their Aadhaar numbers in Form 6 and Form 8. However, failure to provide an Aadhaar number will not result in the rejection of an application for inclusion in the electoral rolls or the deletion of an existing entry.
The Commission emphasised that providing an Aadhaar number is voluntary and that no eligible voter should be denied enrolment solely for failing to furnish it.
According to the Election Commission, the SSR schedule will be announced later for states and Union Territories where the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is currently underway or has recently been completed. These include Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Delhi, Odisha, Sikkim, Tripura, and Telangana.
Meanwhile, the SIR process has not yet begun in Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. Considering the prevailing weather conditions in these regions, the Commission has decided to announce the electoral roll revision schedule for these three areas at a later date.
