Mumbai, Sep 22: Maharashtra’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has triggered concern after 2,06,88,487 electors—21.14% of the state’s previous voter base—were not included in the draft electoral roll.
According to the Chief Electoral Officer, Maharashtra had 9,78,54,049 electors before the revision. Of these, 7,71,65,562 names (78.86%) were included in the draft roll published on August 31.
The Maharashtra Congress, led by MPCC president Harshvardhan Sapkal, met the Chief Electoral Officer and sought scrutiny of the large-scale exclusions, including clarity on the reasons for non-inclusion and safeguards available to affected voters.
The election authorities said the missing enumeration forms relate to voters who were absent, had shifted residence, were deceased, had duplicate registrations or were otherwise untraceable. The official SIR system also provides ASDD lists—Absent, Shifted, Dead and Duplicate—for verification.
The biggest numbers of uncollectable forms were reported in Pune (28.6 lakh), Thane (28.5 lakh) and Mumbai Suburban (26.5 lakh). Nagpur, Nashik and Mumbai City also recorded substantial numbers.
Importantly, exclusion from the draft roll is not a final deletion of voting rights. The Election Commission has opened a claims and objections window from August 31 to September 30. Eligible voters can seek inclusion through Form 6, while Form 7 is available for objections and Form 8 for corrections. The final electoral roll is scheduled for publication on November 4, 2026.
With more than one in five names from the previous roll absent from the draft, the focus now shifts to the claims process and how many of these electors are restored to the final voter list.