New Delhi: The process of revising the active voter list across the country will begin in November. The revision of the active voter list in five states, including Kerala, is expected to be completed by the first week of February. The upcoming assembly elections will be based on the revised voter list, Election Commission sources said.

The schedule for revising the active voter list is expected to be ready within two days. The Commission will announce the timetable in the next four to five days. The Election Commission has decided to complete the revision of the active voter list across the country in a phased manner. In the first phase, the revision will be conducted in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Puducherry, where assembly elections are scheduled next year. Assembly elections are also due in Assam in April and May next year. However, Assam has requested the Election Commission to begin revising the active voter list only after completing the steps for preparing the National Register of Citizens.

The Election Commission aims to complete the revision of the voter list in these states within three months. The final voter list in these states is likely to be published by the end of January or early February. The last revision of the voter list in Kerala was in 2002, and the 2002 list will serve as the base document for the new revision. In view of the local body elections in Kerala being held in December, the state Chief Electoral Officer had requested the Central Election Commission to start the revision only after that. The stand taken by the Central Election Commission on this is not clear.

However, sources in the Central Election Commission clarified that the 2026 assembly elections will be based on the revised voter list. The country-wide revision will follow the model used for the voter list revision in Bihar. In the revision process, Aadhaar will be considered only as an identity document and not as proof of citizenship. In addition to Aadhaar, one of the 11 documents prescribed by the Election Commission will be required to prove citizenship.