Election Commission of India

Timeline

1. 11 Oct2026
   Polity

   Explainer: how the Election Commission became a three-member body in 1993¹

   Renewed debate recalled the ECI's creation on 25 January 1950 as a single-member body and its permanent expansion on 1 October 1993.

   • ECI established on 25 January 1950 as a single-member body
   • Two Election Commissioners were added in October 1989 and the commission reverted to one member in January 1990
   • Three-member structure restored in October 1993 (from 1 October 1993)
   • A 1993 amendment introduced majority decisions; the Supreme Court upheld it in 1995 against T N Seshan's challenge
2. 10 Oct2026
   Appointments

   Prakash Rajpurohit appointed Deputy Election Commissioner²³

   The 2010-batch Rajasthan cadre IAS officer will serve until 8 April 2030, succeeding Sanjay Kumar.

   • Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved Prakash Rajpurohit (2010-batch Rajasthan-cadre IAS) as Deputy Election Commissioner on 10 October 2026
   • Tenure until 8 April 2030
   • Fills the vacancy left when Sanjay Kumar was repatriated to his cadre in August 2026
3. 4 Oct2026
   Polity

   Uttarakhand final electoral roll after SIR has 71.59 lakh voters⁴⁵

   Uttarakhand published its final electoral roll on 3 October 2026 after the Special Intensive Revision, listing 71,58,949 voters. That is about 8 lakh below the roll at the start of the exercise, a drop Congress puts at nearly 14 lakh using an older baseline.

   • Final roll published 3 October 2026 with 71,58,949 voters
   • Roll was about 79.6 lakh when the SIR began on 8 June 2026 (CEO office figure)
   • Draft roll of 14 July had about 71.33 lakh voters
   • Qualifying date 1 July 2026
   • Congress cites 85.19 lakh as of 1 January 2025, claiming a fall of nearly 14 lakh
4. 4 Oct2026
   Polity

   Rahul Gandhi launches 'Satyagraha' protest-mapping platform amid anti-CEC protests⁶⁷

   The Leader of Opposition launched a digital platform to map protests, a day after Gandhi Jayanti, as demonstrations demanded the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar.

   • Launched on Saturday 3 October 2026, a day after Gandhi Jayanti
   • Digital platform where people register protests, which are shown on a single map
   • Launched by Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition
   • Came amid protests over SIR irregularities and calls for CEC Gyanesh Kumar's resignation
5. 23 Aug2026
   Polity

   Karnataka SIR flags 16.38 lakh deceased electors; 1.08 crore in ASDDO list⁸⁹¹⁰

   Karnataka's SIR enumeration closed with 1.08 crore electors (19.54%) in the ASDDO category, including 16.38 lakh dead, 65.61 lakh shifted and 15.28 lakh absent; the draft roll was published on 24 August with claims and objections until 23 September.

   • ASDDO: about 1.08 crore (1,08,31,945), 19.54%
   • Shifted 65.61 lakh; dead 16.38 lakh; absent or untraceable 15.28 lakh
   • ASDDO does not mean permanent deletion, the CEO said
   • Draft roll published 24 August 2026; claims and objections to 23 September
   • Dead count varies slightly by date (16.37 to 16.40 lakh)
6. 12 Jul2026
   Polity

   ECI requires parents' SIR details in Form 6 applications¹¹¹²¹³

   The Election Commission added a requirement, through instructions rather than an amendment to the form, that new Form 6 applicants provide their parents' (or grandparents') details from the previous SIR electoral roll. Reports in late September 2026 say the EC withdrew the additional declaration from online enrolment in states where SIR was complete; the Supreme Court said it had not approved any modified Form 6.

   • The Election Commission added a requirement, through instructions rather than an amendment to the form, that new Form 6 applicants provide their parents' (or grandparents') details from the previous SIR electoral roll
   • Reports in late September 2026 say the EC withdrew the additional declaration from online enrolment in states where SIR was complete; the Supreme Court said it had not approved any modified Form 6
7. 30 May2026
   Polity

   Election Commission begins Special Intensive Revision in Manipur¹⁴

   The Election Commission's SIR in Manipur ran its enumeration phase from 30 May 2026. A Supreme Court direction to accept EPIC cards, claimed in the draft, could not be confirmed.

   • ECI's Special Intensive Revision in Manipur began its enumeration phase on 30 May 2026 (to 28 June)
   • Kuki bodies raised displacement concerns, saying about 59,000 Kuki-Zo people are internally displaced
8. 27 May2026
   Supreme Court

   Supreme Court upholds Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision of rolls¹⁵¹⁶

   A bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi upheld the validity of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar on 27 May, saying the Commission has power under Article 324. It said the ECI can examine citizenship for roll inclusion but not decide it finally.

   • Supreme Court on 27 May 2026 upheld the Election Commission's power to conduct the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls (bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi)
   • Power drawn from Article 324 read with the Representation of the People Act 1950
   • ECI may examine citizenship for roll inclusion but this is not a final determination of citizenship
   • Verdict had been reserved on 29 January 2026
9. 9 Apr2026
   Polity

   Assam, Kerala, Puducherry vote 9 April; Tamil Nadu, Bengal on 23 April¹⁷¹⁸¹⁹

   The Election Commission held polling for Assam, Kerala and Puducherry on 9 April, Tamil Nadu on 23 April and West Bengal in two phases on 23 and 29 April, with all counting set for 4 May.

   • Schedule announced 15 March 2026
   • Assam (126), Kerala (140) and Puducherry: single-phase polling on 9 April
   • Tamil Nadu (234): 23 April
   • West Bengal (294): two phases, 23 April (152 seats) and 29 April (142 seats)
   • Counting for all five assemblies on 4 May 2026
10. 25 Jan2026
    Other

    National Voters' Day marks founding of the Election Commission²⁰

    The 16th National Voters' Day was observed on 25 January with the theme 'My India, My Vote', marking the Election Commission's founding on that date in 1950.

    • 16th National Voters' Day observed 25 January 2026
    • Theme: My India, My Vote
    • Marks the foundation of the Election Commission of India on 25 January 1950

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Sources

1. Outlook India
2. Business Standard
3. ThePrint
4. ThePrint
5. The Hans India
6. ThePrint
7. The South First
8. The Week
9. Outlook India
10. Free Press Journal
11. The Tribune (PTI)
12. Scroll.in
13. LiveLaw
14. LatestLY (agency)
15. The South First
16. Deccan Chronicle
17. The Week
18. WION
19. Free Press Journal
20. PIB (official)