The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is a major exercise by the Election Commission of India (ECI) to completely rework voter lists in selected states. Under this process, voters need to re-submit or verify their details, and old records are being cleared or updated. The official goal is to purify the electoral roll removing invalid or duplicate entries, dead or “untraceable” voters so that only genuine, active voters remain.

However, several political parties and leaders strongly oppose the current SIR rollout. For instance, Rahul Gandhi has called it a “new weapon” for vote theft, suggesting that many people who legitimately raised their voice in earlier elections are now disappearing from voter rolls. In Bihar, critics point to large-scale deletions up to 65 lakh voters could be removed, according to some estimates, with a significant portion marked “dead” or “untraceable.”

In Tamil Nadu, actor and political figure Vijay (TVK) has warned that about 6.38 crore voters might be at risk of losing their names if SIR is not handled transparently and carefully. He urged voters to fill the SIR enumeration form (Form 6), obtain acknowledgment slips from BLOs, and stay alert during verification. Meanwhile, the DMK and its allies plan to move the Supreme Court, terming the process “illegal” and expressing fears that it’s being used to purge voters, especially those from marginalized communities.

There are also procedural concerns. Some citizens have reported confusion about whether their SIR forms will even be accepted, citing mismatches in documentation and past discrepancies. In Kerala, the state Assembly passed a unanimous resolution opposing the SIR, calling the timing “hasty” and questioning the ECI’s motives some fear the exercise could act as a “politics of exclusion.” Many argue that while revising voter lists is necessary, it must be done with extreme care and transparency, ensuring no genuine voter is unfairly removed.