More than 2 crore voters have been left out of Maharashtra’s draft electoral roll following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), according to election officials, triggering a fresh political controversy in the state.
The draft voter list for all 288 Assembly constituencies was released on Monday and includes 7,71,65,562 electors. This is around 78.86% of the earlier voter base of 9,78,54,049, meaning more than 2 crore names do not appear in the draft roll.
According to election authorities, 2,06,88,487 voters were not included because their enumeration forms could not be collected.
The revised list includes 3,95,89,905 male voters, 3,75,72,570 female voters and 3,087 third-gender electors.
Officials said the missing names may include voters who could not be found at their registered addresses, had moved to another location, were deceased, had duplicate registrations or were registered in another constituency. Voters who did not submit their enumeration forms are also part of the excluded category.
Pune, Thane Among Districts With Highest Number of Missing Forms
Pune recorded the highest number of enumeration forms that could not be collected, with around 28.6 lakh forms. Thane followed with approximately 28.5 lakh, while Mumbai Suburban recorded 26.5 lakh.
Nagpur accounted for around 14.43 lakh such cases, followed by Nashik with 10.27 lakh and Mumbai City with about 9.5 lakh.
Voters Can Challenge Missing Names
The Election Commission has opened a window for voters to raise claims and objections. Those whose names are missing from the draft list can approach the authorities between August 31 and September 30.
Voters seeking inclusion can submit Form 6, while objections against an entry can be filed through Form 7. Corrections to details such as name, address, age or gender can be requested using Form 8.
The claims and objections process is expected to continue until October 29, with the final electoral roll scheduled to be published on November 4.
Congress Questions Massive Exclusions
The deletion of more than two crore names has led to a political clash, with the Congress reviving its allegations of “vote chori” and questioning the credibility of previous electoral rolls.
Congress leader Pawan Khera questioned why the BJP and Election Commission had earlier expressed confidence in the 2024 voter list despite opposition concerns over the increase in voter numbers.
Khera also referred to the Congress’s earlier claim that nearly 40 lakh voters were added between the 2024 Lok Sabha and Maharashtra Assembly elections.
“If the voter list was impeccable just two years ago, why are nearly 2 crore voters being excluded now? If it wasn’t beyond reproach, why did the BJP-ECI insist so confidently that it was?” Khera said.
He further alleged that the latest revision had strengthened the Congress’s earlier claims, stating, “Vote chori is real. Rigged elections are real. Imposed governments are real.”
The final impact of the SIR exercise will become clearer once claims and objections are processed and Maharashtra publishes its final electoral roll in November.
