All eyes on Election Commission: Pan-India SIR phase one dates to be unveiled today

The ECI will hold a press conference at 4:15 pm at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.

The first phase of SIR will cover 10-15 states and Union Territories including poll-bound states, West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

Apart from the poll-bound states, SIR will be held in hill states like Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Ladakh.

The SIR has already been conducted in Bihar, which is going to polls in November.

The last SIR was conducted about two decades ago.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has alleged SIR is a conspiracy to deprive citizens of their voting rights, an allegation almost all opposition parties are levelling against the BJP.

Stalin claimed a similar "injustice" was also evident in Bihar, where SIR was conducted but not without the matter entering the Supreme Court, which had directed the ECI to accept Aadhaar Card as an ID for the process.

In West Bengal, where BJP is aiming to come to power desperately in 2026, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) has strongly opposed SIR and cleared that the ruling party won't allow any "valid voter's name" to be deleted from the list.

Though West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had initially thundered that she won't allow SIR to be held in the state, later she toned down and said her party won't allow any genuine citizen to be deprived of his/her voting rights.

Speaking to Aaj Tak, Union Home Minister Amit Shah reacted to Mamata's claim that people would come out on streets to protest against SIR and said, "The same was said during the Bihar SIR. What has happened? Everybody filled the forms. The elections will be held in Bihar as well as in West Bengal."

The list of documents which will be eligible as proof of eligibility will remain the same more or else, The Times of India reported.

Aadhaar will be accepted as an identity proof.