New Delhi, Feb. 7 -- The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday extended by a month the deadline for filing claims and objections in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Uttar Pradesh (UP). This is the fourth extension given during the SIR process in India's most-populous state, where nearly every fifth voter is facing the risk of deletion from the rolls and roughly 32.6 million hearings are scheduled. Uttar Pradesh goes to the polls in early 2027. In West Bengal, two extensions have been given till now. Tamil Nadu and Kerala have also been given one extension each. All three states began their SIR process alongside UP and will go to the polls this summer. ECI's announcement on Friday allowed electors time till March 6 to seek inclusion, correction or deletion of names. The extension revised the earlier February 6 cut-off and followed a formal request from the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of UP Navdeep Rinwa. "The decision was taken to ensure wider public participation and improve the accuracy of the rolls in the country's most populous state," ECI said in a statement. Meanwhile, Rinwa said: "On the request of the political parties a proposal was sent to the ECI to extend the dates of the claim and objection phase as well as the notice phase. The ECI has considered the request and revised the schedules of both the phases." In UP, the revised schedule now provides for disposal of claims and objections till March 27, checking of roll health parameters by April 3, and final publication of the electoral rolls on April 10. ECI has directed wide publicity of the revised timeline, reiterating that SIR is aimed at strengthening electoral integrity and inclusiveness rather than excluding eligible voters. Among 32.6 million voters, notices have been generated for 23.7 million voters and booth level officers (BLOs) have handed over notices to 8.63 million voters. The ECI has completed hearings for 3.03 million voters. Uttar Pradesh is one of 12 states and Union Territories where the SIR began on November 4. The initial schedule, announced on October 27, had set December 4 as the deadline for the completion of house-to-house enumeration and submission of enumeration forms. At that time, the draft roll was to be published on December 9. However, the deadline was extended on November 30 after district election officials reported delays in field-level verification and collection of data from voters. The first extension pushed the enumeration deadline by one week to December 11 and the draft roll publication to December 16. Officials cited the need for additional time to verify records related to deceased voters, those who had permanently shifted residences, and those found to be registered at multiple locations....