The draft electoral roll for 117 Assembly constituencies in Punjab was published on August 13 under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, with the claims and objections period now underway. Electors whose names do not appear in the draft roll can submit claims for inclusion from August 13 to September 12.
The draft roll was handed over to representatives of recognised political parties at a meeting chaired by Punjab Chief Electoral Officer Anindita Mitra on August 13. Political parties were also briefed about the forms to be used during the claims and objections process.
Form 6 can be used for inclusion of names, Form 6A for enrolment of eligible overseas Indian voters, Form 7 for deletion of names and Form 8 for correction of entries or shifting of residence.
Nearly 20 lakh electors not covered by enumeration
According to officials, enumeration forms of nearly 1.94 crore (19.4 million) electors out of Punjab’s total electorate of around 2.14 crore (21.4 million) were collected and digitised during the house-to-house enumeration exercise. The remaining more than 20 lakh electors, accounting for 9.63 per cent of the total electorate, were categorised under the ASDD — absent, shifted, dead or duplicate — category.
The house-to-house enumeration exercise was conducted from June 25 to August 3 as part of the SIR process.
The categorisation of such a large number of electors means that the claims and objections period will be an important stage for voters who could not be covered during the enumeration exercise or whose names do not appear in the draft roll.
CEO asks electors to check names
The Punjab CEO’s office has asked electors to check their details in the published draft roll. The draft is available through the Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab website and the Election Commission’s voter services portal. A special camp was also organised at all polling booths on August 16 to help electors check their details and access electoral services. Booth Level Officers were made available at polling stations from 10 am to 1 pm for assistance.
Help desks have also been set up at the offices of District Election Officers and Electoral Registration Officers to facilitate access to the draft roll.
Citizens turning 18 by October 1, 2026 are eligible to seek enrolment, according to the CEO’s office.
Social media complaints point to difficulties during Punjab SIR enumeration
While official communication from the Punjab election authorities has highlighted voter assistance and arrangements made during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), posts and replies on the official social media account of the Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab also contain complaints from electors about difficulties during the enumeration and verification process.
On August 14, a user, Rahul Dadhwal, complained that the information available to him was incorrect and that money had been spent without resolving the issue. He wrote: “Koi v information Sahi nahi kida check kariya, sab sada paisa waste” — “No information was correct. We checked everything, and all our money was wasted.”
Koi v information Sahi nahi kida check kariya , sab sada paisa waste .😢
— Rahul Dadhwal (@rahuldadhwal8) August 14, 2026
The post was subsequently followed by a response from the CEO Punjab office asking the user to share personal details and a brief description of the problem through direct message so that the concerned team could assist.
Thank you for contacting Office of Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab
Please DM your name, mobile number, District, Assembly Constituency, and a brief description of your issue. The concerned team will contact you for necessary assistance.— Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab (@TheCEOPunjab) August 17, 2026
Other posts on the same official account also raised specific concerns about the enumeration exercise.
A user identifying himself as Aditya alleged that his mother, who is alive, had been marked as deceased and consequently removed from the Punjab SIR draft electoral roll. He claimed that she had filled and submitted the Enumeration Form and questioned how the error had occurred.
@TheCEOPunjab @ECISVEEP
My mother is alive,but her name has been removed from the Punjab SIR draft electoral roll by incorrectly marking her as deceased. She had duly filled and submitted the Enumeration Form as well.Was this done intentionally to remove voters?
EPIC: TXO3368289— Aditya (@MunishK1007) August 15, 2026
Another user, posting on August 16, alleged that members of the public were facing harassment at the hands of Booth Level Officers (BLOs), whom the user described as inadequately trained.
Great harrasment of public at BLO hands they are not well trained @TheCEOPunjab
— noreligion (@nofoodsecurity) August 16, 2026
A separate complaint from a Ludhiana resident said that she had been living in the city for more than 25 years and had shifted her residence from Ludhiana North to Ludhiana West. She alleged that she was unable to obtain her EPIC number because no BLO was helping her and that the application was showing “NO RESULT FOUND”. The complaint was addressed to the Election Commission and Punjab election authorities.
Link: https://x.com/GoyelJ/status/2089030135123267590?s=20
The responses from the CEO Punjab account in these cases were similar, asking complainants to share their details privately so that the concerned team could examine the matter.
These exchanges do not, by themselves, establish whether the complaints were caused by errors in the SIR process, technical problems, mistakes during enumeration or other reasons. Nor do they establish the extent of such problems across Punjab. However, they provide examples of electors publicly reporting difficulties with identification, enumeration, BLO assistance and entries in the draft electoral roll.
The complaints are relevant to the SIR process because the exercise involves the verification of existing electors and preparation of the draft electoral roll. Errors in recording a voter’s status, difficulties in locating an EPIC number or problems in accessing BLO assistance can potentially affect an elector’s ability to verify their entry and raise a claim or objection within the prescribed period.
Claims and objections open until September 12
With the draft roll now published, voters have an opportunity to verify their names and particulars and seek corrections or inclusion where required.
Those whose names are missing can file claims along with the prescribed declaration and supporting documents until September 12. Electors can also use the prescribed forms to seek deletion of an ineligible entry, correction of details or shifting of their registration.
The process therefore moves into a crucial claims and objections stage, particularly for the more than 20 lakh electors who were not covered through collection and digitisation of enumeration forms. The final electoral roll will be prepared after the claims and objections received during this period are processed by the election authorities.
Related:
Non-Electors within Electors: ECI reports over 61 lakh potential exclusions