Gujarat's Electoral Roll Sees Historic Purge: 73L Voters Dropped in Draft Roll
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The Gujarat government has released the state's draft electoral roll after a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, resulting in the removal of a record 7.37 million names. The updated roll now has 43.4 million voters, a significant increase from the 5.08 million before the SIR began on October 27. According to the chief electoral officer, Harit Shukla, the names were deleted after thorough verification and coordination with local authorities and political representatives failed to yield enumeration forms from the concerned individuals. The door-to-door verification process identified deceased voters, those who had permanently left the state, voters registered at multiple locations, and those who couldn't be traced during the survey. The deleted names were categorized as follows: 18.07 lakh belonged to deceased voters, 40.25 lakh to those who had permanently shifted, 9.69 lakh to absent voters, 3.81 lakh to duplicate registrations, and 1.89 lakh to other categories. Voters have until January 18, 2026, to file claims and objections for inclusion, correction, or deletion of names. Election authorities will verify and dispose of all claims by February 10, 2026, after issuing notices and hearing the concerned voters. The final electoral roll will be published on February 17, 2026. The SIR exercise involved a massive team of 33 District Election Officers, 182 Electoral Registration Officers, 855 Assistant Electoral Registration Officers, 50,963 Booth Level Officers, 54,443 Booth Level Agents, and 30,833 volunteers, as per Shukla's statement. The draft electoral roll has been published at all polling stations, designated locations, and on the Chief Electoral Officer's website, along with copies provided to recognized political parties and lists of voters whose enumeration forms were not received.
