1.71 Crore Names Dropped in Draft Voter Rolls
Tamil Nadu and Gujarat have seen a large number of voters’ names removed from their draft electoral rolls following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists. The process, conducted by the Election Commission of India, aims to update and clean the electoral rolls before upcoming elections. In the revision exercise released on Friday, a total of approximately 1.71 crore names were not included in the draft lists of the two states combined.
Tamil Nadu recorded the highest number of deletions, with around 97.3 lakh names removed from its electoral roll. Before the SIR, the state’s voter list included about 6.41 crore electors, but only around 5.43 crore were retained in the draft following the cleanup. Most deletions were due to voters being classified as shifted, deceased or duplicate entries.
Gujarat sees significant roll reduction
In Gujarat, approximately 73.7 lakh names were removed from the electoral roll. The state’s registered voters dropped from over 5.08 crore to around 4.34 crore in the draft. Deletions included deceased voters, those who had moved away, duplicate registrations and other discrepancies identified during the SIR verification.
Opportunity to appeal missing names
The Election Commission has made the draft rolls public and has opened a window for claims and objections. Voters who find their names missing or believe there are errors in the list can file corrections or appeals with local election officials or through official online portals. This claims period is scheduled to continue until January 18, 2026, after which the final rolls will be prepared ahead of the next elections.
