EC’s electoral roll revision drives 10 per cent voter base reduction across states

The Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls has completed one year, leading to deletion of over five crore voters across states and UTs. The Election Commission says the exercise ensures accurate voter lists, while it continues in multiple phases nationwide

New Delhi: The Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, which has so far led to the deletion of nearly six crore voters and triggered acrimony between the Opposition and the Election Commission, has completed one year as the poll roll cleanup exercise continues in 19 states and Union territories.

The pilot SIR exercise was commenced in Bihar on June 24 last year, ahead of the assembly polls. Post Bihar SIR, its voters’ list was pruned by nearly 65 lakh amid allegations by opposition and activists that the poll authority was working at the behest of the BJP to disenfranchise citizens for want of documents.

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In March, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the constitutional validity of the EC’s move to carry out SIR. Individuals whose names were deleted during SIR are being excluded from state welfare benefits in West Bengal and Bihar. Following recent state assembly elections, both governments announced that voter roll purification data is being linked to social security.

SIR is now part of the NCERT’s Social Science textbook, describing it as an exercise to ensure that no eligible citizen is left out and no ineligible person is included in the electoral roll.

In the second phase of the exercise — announced on October 27, last year — in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Puducherry, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Goa, the combined voters’ list was pruned by 10.2 per cent.

The voter base before the poll roll clean-up across these states and Union territories stood at more than 50.99 crore. Post the exercise, the voters’ list stands at 45.81 crore — a decline of over 5.18 crore. In percentage terms, the electoral rolls have been reduced by 10.2 per cent.

As many as 66,88,636 deceased electors were removed from the rolls, with the maximum of 25.47 lakh from Uttar Pradesh, followed by 24.16 lakh from poll-going West Bengal.

Additionally, 63.16 lakh names were deleted following objections and adjudication during the SIR exercise. The final rolls for the 12 states and Union territories were released on different dates, with Uttar Pradesh being the last to release the data.

Third phase of the SIR in 16 states and three Union territories — Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Sikkim, Tripura, Telangana, and Uttarakhand, National Capital Territory of Delhi, Chandigarh, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu — involving 36.73 crore voters was rolled out on May 14 and would conclude later this year.