UP draft electoral roll drops 2.89 cr names

18% CUT IN UP ELECTORATE

- BISWAJEET BANERJEE

The publication of Uttar Pradesh’s draft electoral roll following a Special Intensive Revision has revealed a significant reshaping of the state’s voter base, with 2.89 crore names deleted from the list and 12.55 crore voters retained. The Election Commission has opened a month-long window from January 6 to February 6 for citizens to verify their status and seek inclusion, correction or deletion before the final roll is released on March 6, 2026.

According to Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa, the deletions account for about 18.70 per cent of the 15.44 crore voters who were registered before the revision. He said the exclusions were largely the result of deaths, permanent migration and duplicate registrations detected during the verification drive. Of the names missing, 46.23 lakh were identified as deceased voters, around 2.17 crore belonged to people who had shifted out of their constituencies or could not be verified during the exercise, and 25.47 lakh were duplicate entries. After the revision, the electorate stands at roughly 12.55 crore.

The Special Intensive Revision process began on October 27, 2025, with the first phase of fieldwork starting on November 4. At that time, the rolls carried 15,30,92,000 names. Enumeration forms were printed for every voter and distributed door to door by booth-level officers for verification and signatures from voters or their family members.