10 Million Voters Likely Deleted After SIR

The Election Commission of India will begin a Special Intensive Revision of Maharashtra’s electoral rolls on June 30, part of a nationwide clean-up of voter lists announced on May 14. The exercise will cover nearly 9.86 crore, or 98.6 million, registered voters in the state through house-to-house verification by Booth Level Officers, according to the commission’s Phase III schedule. Maharashtra officials expect the revision to remove a large number of duplicate, shifted and deceased voters from the rolls. (eci.gov.in) Hindustan Times, citing state officials, reported on May 16 that deletions could reach about 10 million names. (hindustantimes.com) The state’s voter list is one of India’s largest, and the revision comes as the Election Commission expands the Special Intensive Revision to 16 states and three union territories. (freepressjournal.in) The national exercise will cover about 36.73 crore voters, the commission said in its May 14 press note. Maharashtra’s Chief Electoral Officer website identifies S. Chockalingam as the state’s chief electoral officer. ### How many Maharashtra voters could be removed? Hindustan Times reported on May 16 that Election Commission officials in Maharashtra expect 8% to 12% of the state’s 98,859,784 voters to be struck off during the revision. That would amount to roughly 9 million to 10 million names, according to the report. (eci.gov.in) The report said metropolitan districts including Mumbai Suburban, Thane and Navi Mumbai are expected to see the highest deletions because of migration and floating populations. Mumbai has about 10.4 million registered voters, Pune about 9.14 million and Thane about 7.5 million, the newspaper said. ### Why does the Election Commission think so many names are on the rolls? Maharashtra officials told Hindustan Times that duplicate registrations, unreported deaths and voter movement have inflated the rolls. (eci.gov.in) One official told the newspaper that duplicate registrations had surfaced in municipal corporation elections and that urbanisation, redevelopment and migration had added to the problem. (hindustantimes.com) Another official told the newspaper that the annual Special Summary Revision was not held last year because election staff were occupied with local body polls, leaving shifted and deceased voters on the list. The same report said relatives often do not apply to remove the names of dead family members. (hindustantimes.com) ### What exactly will happen on the ground from June 30? The Election Commission said Booth Level Officers will carry out door-to-door verification in Maharashtra from June 30 to July 29. Training for the field staff is scheduled from June 20 to June 29, according to the published schedule reported by Free Press Journal and reflected in the commission’s Phase III announcement. (hindustantimes.com) Political parties have been asked to appoint Booth Level Agents at every polling station to assist during the process, Free Press Journal reported. The Election Commission said the Phase III schedule was fixed with the census house-listing exercise in mind because both use common field machinery. (hindustantimes.com) ### What is the state already doing before the formal revision starts? Before June 30, Maharashtra election officials are running a pre-SIR mapping exercise that compares current voters with the rolls used in 2002, the last time such an intensive revision was conducted in the state, Hindustan Times reported. The newspaper said about 70% of current voters had been mapped so far. (freepressjournal.in) Mumbai’s urban districts are lagging that average, according to the same report. Mumbai Suburban had mapped 47% of voters and Mumbai city 55%, figures officials linked to migration and frequent address changes within the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. ### When will voters know whether their names survived the clean-up? (freepressjournal.in) The Election Commission’s Maharashtra schedule sets August 5, 2026, for publication of the draft electoral roll. Free Press Journal reported that claims and objections will run from August 5 to September 4, giving voters and parties a month to challenge omissions or seek corrections. The final electoral roll is scheduled for October 7, 2026, according to the same schedule. (hindustantimes.com) Voters can also use the Election Commission’s electoral roll and voter services portals to search their names and file claims or objections during the process. (freepressjournal.in)