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Voter rolls in five poll-bound states shrink 12.2% after SIR; Uttar Pradesh is nearly 90% of the drop
The electorate in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur fell from about 18.71 crore to 16.43 crore after the Special Intensive Revision, a net loss of about 2.29 crore, or 12.2%. Uttar Pradesh lost about 2.04 crore (13.24%). Part of the draft-stage deletions were later restored.
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The number of voters on the rolls of five states that vote early next year has fallen by about 12.2% after the Special Intensive Revision of the electoral rolls. Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur together went from about 18.71 crore electors before the revision to about 16.43 crore in the final rolls, a net reduction of about 2.29 crore. Uttar Pradesh alone accounts for nearly 90% of the fall.
State by state
In Uttar Pradesh, which went through the second phase of the revision, the electorate was 15.44 crore before the exercise, 12.56 crore in the draft roll and 13.40 crore in the final rolls. The net loss is about 2.04 crore, or 13.24%, the steepest of the five. The draft removed about 2.89 crore names, and about 0.84 crore of them, roughly 29%, were restored.
Punjab, in the third phase, went from 2.15 crore to 1.94 crore in the draft and 2.01 crore in the final roll, a net loss of about 0.14 crore, or 6.34%. About 34% of its draft deletions were restored, the highest share of the five. Uttarakhand fell from 0.80 crore to 0.72 crore, a loss of 10.07%, with only about 3% of draft deletions restored. Manipur fell from 0.209 crore to 0.196 crore, a loss of 6.33%, with about 17% restored. Goa fell from 0.1185 crore to 0.1058 crore, a loss of 10.76%, and its final roll is smaller than its draft, so nothing was restored on net. Reports differ on some of the smaller states' figures, so they should be checked against the Election Commission's state-level data.
The Election Commission has said assembly elections in the five states could be held early next year. The terms of the assemblies end in March 2027 in Manipur, Goa, Punjab and Uttarakhand, and on 22 May 2027 in Uttar Pradesh, which has 403 seats. The Commission has ordered a special summary revision in 17 states, which gives left-out voters a chance to be included, and young people who turn 18 on or before 1 January can be enrolled.
One report says the removals targeted deceased, relocated or duplicate entries, and that some initial deletions were later partly reversed. The Opposition has said the revision removes genuine voters and held a rally on 1 November in Delhi demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The figures do not show who the removed voters were, and the reports reviewed carried no comment from the Commission on the overall drop.
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