Lucknow: The Centre has brought forward Census 2027 population enumeration in Uttar Pradesh by more than two months, shifting the exercise from February to Dec 1, 2026-Jan 4, 2027, in a move that will ensure the statewide headcount is completed before the expected assembly election schedule gets underway.A five-day revisional round will follow from Jan 5 to 9. The Census reference date has also been advanced from Mar 1 to Jan 5, 2027.The Union home ministry, through the Office of the Registrar General of India, notified the revised schedule on Saturday. The same timeline will apply to Goa, Punjab and non-snow-bound areas of Uttarakhand.The change assumes significance as the Election Commission had earlier made it clear that the UP assembly elections would be held on schedule and that the Census timeline could be adjusted, if necessary, to meet the constitutional requirement of conducting the polls on time.In May, Sheetal Verma, director of census operations and director of citizen registration in Uttar Pradesh, had said that the second phase of Census 2027, involving population enumeration, would be conducted from Feb 9 to 28, 2027.At that time, the Census reference date had been fixed at 00:00 hours on Mar 1, 2027, meaning the population data collected during enumeration would correspond to that specific point in time.Under Saturday’s notification, the reference date for UP has now been fixed at 00:00 hours on Jan 5, 2027.Residents will also get an opportunity to complete the Census digitally before enumerators begin visiting households. The notification provides for self-enumeration from Nov 16 to 30, 2026, immediately preceding the house-to-house population count from Dec 1.“The enumeration will continue until Jan 4, followed by the five-day revisional round. The revision is meant to include births and deaths occurring until 11.59pm on Jan 4. Enumerators will revisit households during these five days to incorporate such changes,” a source said.The advancement of the exercise assumes significance in view of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, which are expected shortly thereafter.In July, chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had made it clear that the UP assembly elections would be conducted on schedule despite the Census exercise. Addressing the Election Commission’s first All India Media Conference in New Delhi, Kumar had pointed out that the term of the current UP assembly ends on May 22, 2027, making it constitutionally necessary to complete the election process before then.The CEC had said that while the Census is a statutory exercise, holding assembly elections within the stipulated period is a constitutional requirement. He had indicated that, if required, the Census schedule could be adjusted to ensure elections were held on time.The revised timeline now means that the main population enumeration will conclude on Jan 4 and the revisional exercise by Jan 9, leaving the subsequent weeks free for the election process.Administrative boundaries for the Census have already been frozen as of Dec 31, 2025, to ensure consistency during enumeration.
