For the first time, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has added a new section to the online version of the electors’ registration form, known as Form 6. It asks about the status of the applicant’s parents vis-a vis the last SIR of the electoral rolls. Interestingly, this change is not reflected in the downloadable offline form and is only applicable to the online form.
Over 5.58 crore names deleted from SIR
This comes at a time when over 5.58 million names have been deleted from voter lists in 10 states and three UTs during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process that started in 2025. This has also triggered concerns about the potential impact on new voters from such families. For instance, West Bengal saw an unprecedented process play out, in which the names of more than 2.7 million voters were deleted from the voter list during the SIR. Many of these voters’ appeals remain pending before relevant tribunals.
What is the new option in Form-6?
According to the Express report, a new “declaration” part has been inserted between the “J” and “K” sections of Form 6. When applying online through the ECINET portal, this section shows three options: “my name exists in Electoral Roll of last SIR; neither my name nor my parents name exists in the electoral roll of last SIR; my parents’ name (Father, Mother, Grandfather, Grandmother) exists in the electoral roll of last SIR.” While the new part has not been marked mandatory, the applicant cannot move forward with the submission before finishing it.
Rules not applicable in Bihar and Assam
This provision is visible to applicants in the online portal for all states and UTs where the SIR has been concluded in 2025-26 or is currently being completed. However, this new section is not applicable in Bihar and Assam. Bihar was the first state to have the SIR in June 2025, and Assam, where the EC has decided not to conduct the process.
The ECI has, however, not clarified what impact it is going to have on the scrutiny or processing of an applicant’s application if he or she chooses “his or her parents’ name was not in the previous SIR.”
