Electoral rolls have shrunk by more than 15% since 2024 in states without SIR Phase 3 draft rolls

The official receives the form during a special intensive revision of the two-day electoral roll submission camp at Gawand Baug in Thane. | Photo credit: ANI

Since the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the electoral rolls of the 17 states/Union Territories undergoing Special Intensive Review (SIR) in its third phase have shrunk by 15.7%, according to proposals released by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

The cumulative total of voters in these states/UTs fell from 35,50,50,008 during the LS polls to 29,93,00,115 in the proposal lists released after the SIR. Maharashtra saw the biggest drop in absolute numbers, losing 15,896,198 voters or 17.08% in the draft phase, while Delhi and Chandigarh saw the steepest percentage drops at 35.89% and 31.84% respectively.

Since the LS polls and till the closing date for the SIR enumeration phase, these States/UTs have added approximately 57.75 lakh voters, taking the total number of voters to 36,08,07,394. Out of this, 6.15 lakh voters have now been deleted as per the proposals.

The additions after the LS polls were heavily influenced by Maharashtra, which added 47.92 million voters, while 10 other states, including Haryana, added about 9.83 million voters.

Delhi was among the remaining six states/UTs that saw a decline in voter turnout after the LS polls. While the national capital had 1,52,14,638 voters during the LS polls, its pre-SIR rolls had 1,45,10,299 voters, a drop of over 7 lakh. It was followed by Uttarakhand (4.7 lakh), Odisha (3.17 lakh), Chandigarh (1.44 lakh), Punjab (1.1 lakh) and Arunachal Pradesh (10,937).

The numbers could rise

The third phase of SIR is being implemented in 16 states and three Union territories. Out of these, drafts for 17 States/Union Territories have been released, apart from those for Nagaland and Tripura, which are expected to be released on September 20 and October 21, respectively. The numbers on the final electoral rolls could increase as the European Citizens’ Initiative gives people a space to submit requests and objections to additions and deletions from the draft, as well as to register new voters. Implementation of the final lists will begin soon in the states, with Mizoram, Sikkim and Manipur taking the lead on September 6.

Interestingly, out of these 6.15 million voters crossed out in this phase of SIR, only 1.11 million are marked as dead. Among the rest, $4.52 million is marked as “absent” or $49.58 million as “multiple entries” and about 3 million in the “other” category.

The SIR exercise was concluded in Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep. In Assam, a “special review” was carried out due to laws related to the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

In the third phase, the exercise would cover the entire country except Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. The SIR schedule for these states will be announced later after considering the completion of II. census phase and due consideration of upstream weather or snow-bearing areas, ECI said.

Published – 05 Sep 2026 21:41 IST