SIR phase 3: another 1.5 crore voters deleted in 12 states, UTs
text_fields
New Delhi: More than 1.5 crore voters have been deleted from the draft electoral rolls in 12 of the 16 states and three Union Territories covered by the third phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, according to data published by the Election Commission.
The deletions amount to nearly an 11.5 per cent decline in the voter count across these states and Union Territories during the enumeration exercise. The figure could change after the Election Commission processes new voter registrations and objections during the subsequent stages.
More than 7.2 crore voters were deleted during the first two SIR phases across 13 states and Union Territories. With the latest deletions, the total number of electors removed so far has crossed 8.7 crore, although the figure remains subject to revisions during the appeals process. Around two crore voters were also added during the second phase, taking the net number of deletions to 6.7 crore.
The third phase covers Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Delhi, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Sikkim, Telangana, Tripura and Uttarakhand.
The revised electoral rolls for Delhi, Punjab, Telangana, Karnataka and Maharashtra, where the door-to-door verification exercise has been extended, as well as for Tripura and Nagaland, are yet to be published.
Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu recorded the highest rate of deletions at 29.64 per cent, according to a report in The Hindu, while Sikkim recorded the lowest at 8 per cent.
In absolute numbers, Andhra Pradesh recorded the highest number of deletions, with its electorate declining from 4.16 crore to 3.71 crore. More than 22 lakh voters were found to have shifted or been absent from their registered addresses, 15.22 lakh were reported deceased and 7.37 lakh had multiple enrolments, the report said.
The SIR has already been completed in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
The Election Commission has not provided figures on the number of foreign nationals found on the electoral rolls.