NEW DELHI: The draft electoral roll prepared under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Delhi has excluded around 47.7 lakh names from the previous electorate of 1.45 crore, leaving roughly 97.5 lakh voters on the draft list. The massive reduction, amounting to nearly one-third of Delhi’s electorate, has triggered fresh political and public scrutiny over the exercise.
According to election officials, the names left out were categorised as “uncollectible”, covering voters who were found absent, had reportedly shifted residence, were deceased, appeared as duplicate entries or fell under other reasons during the house-to-house enumeration. Officials said enumeration forms for around 67 per cent of the original electorate were received and digitised. Importantly, the names excluded from the draft should not yet be treated as permanently deleted, as the claims and objections process provides eligible voters an opportunity to seek inclusion.
The claims process began on August 31 and will continue until September 30, with affected voters allowed to submit Form 6 along with the prescribed declaration and supporting documents. The notice and disposal process is scheduled to continue through October 29, while the final electoral roll is scheduled for publication on November 4. The scale of the exclusions has already sparked a political confrontation, with opposition leaders questioning the exercise while the election machinery maintains that the draft stage and subsequent claims process provide safeguards to correct genuine exclusions.