Close to 1.58 crore names have been deleted from the existing electoral rolls during the third phase of the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR). Draft electoral rolls have so far been published for 12 of the 16 States and three Union Territories covered under the ongoing phase.
The 12 States and Union Territories had a combined 13, 77, 27,807 electors before the revision. Of these, 1, 58, 59,834 names, or 11.51%, have been deleted on the basis of voters being absent, having shifted or being reported dead, according to data shared by the Election Commission.
Door-to-door verification extended in seven States and UTs
The third phase of SIR is being conducted in Delhi, Odisha, Mizoram, Sikkim, Manipur, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh, Telangana, Punjab, Karnataka, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Nagaland, Tripura, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.
The enumeration or door-to-door verification process has been extended in Delhi, Punjab, Telangana, Karnataka and Maharashtra. Draft rolls for these five States/UTs, along with Tripura and Nagaland, are yet to be published.
Electoral rolls are being revised in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Delhi, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Sikkim, Telangana, Tripura and Uttarakhand as part of the ongoing third phase.
Highest deletion rate in Dadra and Nagar Haveli
Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu has recorded the highest proportion of deletions at 29.64%. Arunachal Pradesh follows at 19.09%, Haryana at 16.38% and Chandigarh at 12.8%.
Mizoram has the lowest proportion of deletions at 5.2%, while Sikkim has recorded a deletion rate of 8%.
Among the other States for which draft rolls have been published, 6.02% of names have been deleted in Odisha, 7.5% in Manipur, 10.39% in Uttarakhand, 7.67% in Meghalaya and 16.48% in Jharkhand.
Andhra Pradesh records 44.89 lakh deletions
Andhra Pradesh has the highest number of deletions in absolute terms. As many as 44.89 lakh names, or 10.78% of its electors, have been deleted. The draft roll in the State has consequently come down from 4.16 crore electors to 3.71 crore.
Of the deleted names in Andhra Pradesh, 22.30 lakh related to voters who had shifted or were absent from the given address. Another 15.22 lakh voters were reported dead, while 7.37 lakh were found enrolled at multiple places.
Haryana has the second-highest number of deletions, at 33.83 lakh, followed by Odisha at 20.12 lakh.
In absolute numbers, Sikkim has recorded the fewest deletions, at 37,724, or 8%, followed by Mizoram with 46,162 deletions.
Total deletions cross 8.7 crore in all three phases
The latest deletions in Phase 3 follow the removal of more than 7.2 crore voters during the first two phases of SIR conducted across 13 States and Union Territories.
With the latest figures, the total number of deletions across the three phases has crossed 8.7 crore electors. These figures remain subject to revision during the claims, objections and appeal stages.
Around two crore voters were also added during the second phase of SIR. After accounting for these additions, the net deletions from the first two phases stand at 6.7 crore.
States and UTs already covered
The SIR exercise has already been conducted in Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep.
In Assam, a “special revision” was conducted because of legalities relating to the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal have therefore already been covered by the SIR exercise.
Claims and objections process
The draft rolls published in the 12 States and Union Territories will be followed by the claims and objections process. Electors can seek inclusion or deletion of names from the draft rolls, while new voters can also apply for registration. The number of electors in the final rolls may therefore change after claims, objections and the subsequent stages of the SIR process
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