Draft voter rolls released after SIR in 3 states, 2 UTs

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday published draft electoral rolls in three states and two Union Territories after the completion of the first phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), marking potential deletions largely in the 7.5%-10% range.

- Vrinda Tulsian

In West Bengal, which goes to the polls next summer, the SIR excised nearly 5.82 million names from the draft roll, as reported by HT on Sunday. This meant the potential deletions in the state with 76.6 million voters stood at around 7.6%, close to the 8% deletions seen in Bihar after the SIR earlier this year.

The state chief electoral officer said 2.41 million names were marked as deceased, 3.26 million as shifted or absent, and 138,000 as 'enrolled in multiple places'.

In Rajasthan, where polls are not due till 2028, the names of nearly 4.19 million people were dropped in the draft roll, marking an exclusion percentage of around 7.7%. State Chief Electoral Officer Naveen Mahajan said enumeration forms could not be collected for 4.185 million voters out of the state's total electorate of 54.6 million.

Mahajan also said around 1.1 million voters would be served notices seeking documentary verification to establish their eligibility.

In Goa, the SIR removed 100,042 names from the draft roll, marking a deletion percentage of 8.44%. Out of an initial electorate of 1,185,034, enumeration forms were collected from 1,084,992 electors, amounting to 91.56% coverage. The draft roll flagged 25,574 electors as deceased, 72,471 as shifted or absent and 1,997 as enrolled at multiple places, said an official note from CEO Sanjay Goel's office. Goa goes to the polls in 2027.

Puducherry saw 103,467 names removed from the draft list, a deletion percentage of 10.1%. Of these, 20,798 were reported as deceased, 80,645 marked as shifted or absent, and 2,024 found enrolled at multiple places, said the CEO's office. The Union Territory had 1,021,578 electors at the beginning of the SIR, and enumeration forms were collected from 918,111 electors, the statement said. Puducherry goes to the polls next summer.