India, Feb. 20 -- With nearly seven crore voters already deleted in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), the Election Commission of India (ECI) has now asked 22 states and union territories, including Delhi, to complete preparatory work related to the exercise as it is "expected to start from April".

Once the exercise is completed, all states and UTs will be covered. In Bihar, the SIR exercise was completed and is ongoing in nine states and three UTs. In Assam, a 'special revision', instead of SIR, was completed on February 10.

EC's Secretary Pawan Dewan has written to the Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of these states and UTs, directing them to complete all necessary preparations for the revision exercise at the earliest. In a letter...