SIR: 2.89 crore voters removed from UP draft electoral rolls
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Lucknow: The Election Commission on Tuesday released the draft revised electoral rolls for Uttar Pradesh following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), revealing that 2.89 crore voters have been removed from the state’s rolls, including 46.23 lakh who are deceased. The development follows an enumeration process that was extended three times amid concerns over large-scale deletions in India’s most populous state.
Of the 2.89 crore removed voters, 2.17 crore have reportedly shifted residence, 46.23 lakh are dead, and 25.47 lakh were found to be registered at more than one location. The final list is scheduled to be published on March 6.
At the time the SIR was announced on October 27, 2025, Uttar Pradesh had around 15.44 crore registered voters. Individual enumeration forms were printed for each voter, and Booth Level Officers (BLOs) were tasked with door-to-door verification and collection of signed forms.
According to official figures, 12,55,56,025 enumeration forms were returned, accounting for 81.03 per cent of voters. Forms from approximately 18.7 per cent of voters were not received, leading to the exclusion of 2.89 crore names from the draft rolls.
Among districts, the state capital Lucknow saw the highest reduction in voters. The number of registered electors in Lucknow declined from 39.9 lakh to 27.9 lakh, a drop of nearly 30 per cent. Similarly, Lalitpur’s electorate fell from 9.5 lakh to 8.6 lakh, a reduction of around 10 per cent.
The enumeration process was initially scheduled for one week, with a deadline of December 11. However, with reports of nearly 2.97 crore names facing deletion and ongoing mapping work, Uttar Pradesh authorities requested additional time. The Election Commission granted a 15-day extension, moving the deadline to December 26.
Further delays arose from administrative challenges, including an uneven workload for BLOs, some handling more than 1,200 voters per area. Additionally, 1,530 new polling stations were approved on December 23, requiring server-side data migration. Following these extensions, the draft voter list was finally published on Tuesday.
The scale of deletions has triggered strong political reactions. Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav has alleged that the SIR process has disproportionately affected certain voter groups.