Over 1.02 Crore Names Dropped As Draft Electoral Rolls Shrink 7.6% In 5 States, UTs

The publication of draft electoral rolls after a Special Intensive Revision in West Bengal, Rajasthan, Goa, Lakshadweep and Puducherry has led to the removal of more than 1.02 crore voter names, reducing the combined electorate in these five regions from 13.35 crore on 27 October to 12.33 crore now—a net shrinkage of 7.6 per cent. Election officials say the deletions mainly cover voters marked as deceased, shifted/absent or enrolled at multiple locations, but opposition parties and civil‑society groups have raised concerns about possible wrongful removals.

Where The Biggest Deletions Happened

Data from Chief Electoral Officers show that Rajasthan and West Bengal account for the bulk of the pruning, with around 42 lakh names removed in Rajasthan and nearly 58 lakh in West Bengal alone. Smaller but still significant deletions have been reported from Goa, where roughly one lakh names were taken off the lists across North and South districts, over 1.03 lakh names from Puducherry and about 1,500 entries from Lakshadweep.

Rajasthan’s CEO Naveen Mahajan said the state’s 7.66 per cent deletion rate includes 8.75 lakh deceased electors, 29.6 lakh people marked as permanently shifted or absent and 3.44 lakh duplicate entries that will now be retained at only one address, in line with SIR guidelines. In Puducherry, officials said more than 1.03 lakh enumeration forms out of about 10.2 lakh could not be collected due to reasons like death, migration, duplication or non‑submission, and those entries have been dropped from the draft rolls.

What Is The Special Intensive Revision (SIR)?

The Special Intensive Revision is a year‑long, door‑to‑door verification exercise ordered by the Election Commission across multiple states to clean up rolls ahead of major electoral cycles, with 1 January 2026 set as the qualifying date for new voters. Booth Level Officers were tasked with visiting each address, issuing pre‑filled enumeration forms and updating records for deaths, migrations and corrections, while also enrolling new 18‑plus electors.

The Commission has argued in court and public statements that SIR is a routine, constitutionally mandated exercise under the Representation of the People Act and is necessary to prevent duplication and outdated entries amid rapid urbanisation and internal migration. Officials point out that similar exercises in Bihar earlier this year saw around 8 per cent of names removed in the draft rolls, though that process later drew judicial scrutiny and demands for greater transparency.

Opposition Concerns And Credibility Questions

Opposition parties and rights groups say the fresh 7.6 per cent contraction across five regions reinforces fears of mass deletions, especially in urban and minority‑dominated pockets, and have demanded detailed ward‑wise data and proactive communication with affected voters. Activists argue that many genuine electors may discover their names are missing only close to polling, recalling earlier episodes where lakhs of voters in states like Telangana and Karnataka alleged that their names vanished without adequate notice.

The Election Commission has dismissed allegations of “voter suppression” as exaggerated and politically motivated, insisting that every deleted entry is supported by field verification and that lists of removed names are being uploaded online to allow claims and objections within the legally mandated window.

What Happens Next For Voters

The current lists are only draft rolls; citizens whose names have been deleted or whose details are incorrect can file claims and objections with local election offices or Booth Level Officers during the revision period, after checking their status online or at designated centres. Final electoral rolls for these states and UTs are expected to be published in February 2026, after authorities dispose of all applications and restore entries found to have been wrongly removed.

With several high‑stakes Assembly polls due in 2026 and national elections in 2029, the scale of deletions in the SIR draft rolls has turned voter‑list integrity into a central political issue, making it crucial for citizens to verify their registration status well before polling day.