About 6.5 Crore Voters Removed from Draft Electoral Rolls in 12 States and UTs During SIR Phase II

Revision exercise leads to significant changes in voter lists across states and Union territories

PTI, NEW DELHI, JAN 7, 2025: The names of 6.5 crore electors were removed from the draft electoral rolls of nine states and three Union territories published in the past days as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) being carried out by the Election Commission.

Before Phase II of the SIR, which commenced on October 27, the 12 states and UTs had 50.90 crore electors. After the separate draft rolls were published, the number of electors dwindled to 44.40 crore.

EC officials said the names of those removed from the draft rolls have been put in the ‘ASD’ or absent, shifted and dead/duplicate category.

The EC officials had earlier cited available trends to say that the collection of enumeration forms has been “much less” in urban areas compared to rural areas of the states and UTs covered in the SIR exercise.

The draft electoral roll for Uttar Pradesh, published on Tuesday after the SIR exercise, excluded 2.89 crore voters and retained 12.55 crore.

Phase II of the SIR began in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal on November 4.

In Assam, a separate ‘special revision’ of electoral rolls is in progress.