About 3.26 lakh voters out of 12.55 lakh voters whose names appeared in the draft electoral roll after SIR in Uttar Pradesh may have been sent notices asking them to attend the hearing. | Photo credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
Voters in Uttar Pradesh, whose names appeared in the state’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) draft list but were issued invitations to attend hearings, may now be given the option to skip them and instead send their representatives, which may include booth-level local agents (BLAs) appointed by political parties.
A directive to this effect could be issued as early as this week, sources in the state’s Chief Electoral Office told The Hindu on Thursday (Jan 22, 2026).
Voters would be given the option to upload their documents on the EC website and then send their representative with the credentials for the hearing to the office of the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) or Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO) as appropriate.
For the convenience of voters
“This was done for the convenience of voters as it would be difficult for many to attend the hearing at short notice,” sources said.
Representatives sent by voters may include their family members as well as BLAs of any political party operating in that particular area, they said.
Auge’s Mess: Of SIR and the Real Voter
The decision could follow similar directions issued by the West Bengal High Court earlier this week.
About 3.26 lakh voters out of 12.55 lakh voters whose names appeared in the draft electoral roll after SIR in Uttar Pradesh may have been sent notices asking them to attend the hearing.
Of this 3.26 million, approximately 1.04 billion are those who could not be included in the 2003 electoral rolls when the last SIR was conducted, while 2.22 billion are names that have “logical inconsistencies” in the mapping.
Those who could not be included in the 2003 lists would have to appear at the AERO or ERO as mentioned in the notices and submit documents among the 12 mandated electoral commissions to prove their age, citizenship and place of residence.
Persons who received notices regarding logical inconsistencies will also have to attend the hearing and provide the required documents to clear the doubts. Some of the logical discrepancies that are flagged are less than a 15-year age difference between parents and children, one parent being mapped with more than six children, less than a 40-year age difference with grandparents, and name mismatches.
Of the 15.44 million voters on the earlier 2025 list, 12.55 million names were retained in the draft list released on January 6.
With the publication of the draft list, monthly claims and objections are ongoing and the final list will be published on March 6.
Published – 22 Jan 2026 21:03 IST
