SIR Voter List: Over 13 Crore Names Cut From Draft Rolls
Image: Deccan Herald
One in Three Delhi Voters Left Off the Draft
- Across the three phases of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) since June 2025, draft voter lists have left out more than 13 crore names: over 7.2 crore in the first two phases and about 6.15 crore in the third.
- Delhi has the highest share in the third phase, at 32.78% of its electors. Maharashtra has the highest number, at 2.07 crore.
- The Election Commission puts the removed names under absent, shifted, dead or duplicate. A draft deletion is not final: claims are still open in some states, and the Commission ordered a special drive on 29 September to re-enrol people left out.
- The Supreme Court upheld the SIR on 27 May 2026, but held that the Commission cannot finally decide anyone’s citizenship.
In Delhi’s draft voter list, published on 31 August, 47.56 lakh names were missing. That is roughly one in every three people who were on the rolls before. In Maharashtra, 2.07 crore names were left out of the draft. Across India, the SIR voter list deletions carried out by the Election Commission of India (ECI) since June 2025 now add up to more than 13 crore names at the draft stage, in an exercise the Commission says will remove dead, shifted and duplicate entries and keep ineligible people off the rolls. The Supreme Court has upheld its power to do this. The open question is how many of those names belong to living, eligible voters who did not fill in a form in time.
Some of that question has a deadline attached. Delhi residents can file claims until 30 October, and the city’s final roll is due on 4 December. Below: the numbers phase by phase and state by state, what the Commission says the deletions are, what the court allowed and ruled out, where the figures do not add up, and how a voter can get back on the list.
Three Phases, 13 Crore Names
The SIR began as a pilot in Bihar on 24 June 2025. Bihar’s roll had about 7.89 crore electors on that date; around 65 lakh names were left out of the draft, and the final list published in September 2025 had about 7.42 crore. The second phase, announced by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on 27 October 2025, covered nine states and three Union Territories with 50.90 crore electors. When their draft rolls were out in January 2026, the total had fallen to 44.40 crore, a drop of about 6.5 crore. Uttar Pradesh alone left out 2.89 crore, or 18.70% of its electors.
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The third phase, covering 16 states and three Union Territories with 36.73 crore voters, began in May 2026. By the start of September, draft rolls had been published for 17 of them, with about 6.15 crore names deleted. Adding the phases together gives a total of more than 13 crore names cut at the draft stage, close to the 13.3 crore figure reported in early October.
Where the Cuts Were Deepest
The third phase produced the largest single-state deletions so far. These are draft-roll figures reported from Election Commission data:
| State/UT (third phase) | Names left out of draft | Share of electors |
|---|---|---|
| Maharashtra | 2,06,88,487 | 21.15% |
| Telangana | 73,39,235 | not reported |
| Delhi | 47,56,722 | 32.78% |
| Andhra Pradesh | 44,89,512 | about 10.8% |
| Jharkhand | 43,61,987 | 16.48% |
| Haryana | 33,83,302 | not reported |
| Punjab | 20,66,635 | not reported |
| Odisha | 20,12,557 | 6.03% |
| Sikkim | 37,724 | 8% |
Proportions vary widely. Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu lost 29.64% of its electors at the draft stage; Mizoram lost 5.27%. Within Delhi, Tughlakabad recorded the highest share, at 52.1%. In Maharashtra, Pune district lost 28.6 lakh names, Thane 28.5 lakh and Mumbai Suburban 26.5 lakh. An analysis by The Wire found that the five states with the most deletions in the third phase all held assembly elections in the last three years.
Absent, Shifted, Dead or Duplicate
Election Commission officials say names left out of the draft were placed in the “ASD” category: absent, shifted, and dead or duplicate. In the SIR, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) go house to house with pre-filled enumeration forms; a voter who does not return the form, or cannot be found at the address, can end up off the draft. Voters whose names were on the state’s last intensively revised roll, from around 2002 to 2004 in most states, do not need extra documents. Others must show eligibility.
Officials told PTI during the second phase that form collection had been “much less” in cities than in villages. That fits the pattern: Delhi, Mumbai and Pune top the list, and urban renters who move often are the most likely to be marked “shifted”. The draft-roll data released so far sorts deletions only into these broad categories. It does not show how many of the people removed simply never got, or never returned, a form.
What the Supreme Court Allowed, and What It Did Not
On 27 May 2026, a bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, dismissed the petitions against the SIR. The court held that the Commission has the power to conduct it under Article 324 of the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and said the exercise advances free and fair elections.
The judgment also drew limits. The Commission can inquire into citizenship to keep the roll accurate, but it cannot finally decide whether a person is a citizen, and it must presume in favour of voters already on the rolls, according to reports of the ruling. The court asked the Commission to flag voters deleted over doubtful citizenship and said people who are excluded must have a way to challenge it. Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee argued that the ruling dealt mainly with Bihar; the BJP said at a press conference that the judgment had answered Rahul Gandhi’s allegations against the SIR.
Where the Record Raises Questions
Draft deletions shrink once claims are heard, but by how much varies. In Bihar, the gap between the June 2025 roll and the final list was about 47 lakh, smaller than the 65 lakh left off the draft. Elsewhere, few people have come forward. In Telangana, only 4.95 lakh Form 6 applications had been filed by 9 October, against about 70 lakh names left out, The South First reported.
Schedules have also shifted. Maharashtra’s final roll, first due on 7 October, moved to 4 November and then to 16 November. Delhi’s moved from 4 November to 4 December, with claims extended to 30 October. On 29 September the Commission told Chief Electoral Officers in 20 states and UTs where the SIR was complete to compare the rolls before and after the revision, list the deleted names, and trace eligible voters who had been left out. The Indian Express reported that the order came after disagreements within the Commission over parts of the process. Opposition parties, which have held marches in Delhi demanding the Chief Election Commissioner’s resignation, say the scale of the deletions shuts eligible people out. The Commission’s position is that no eligible elector will be left out and that a draft deletion is not a final one.
How to Check Your Name and Re-Enrol
A voter can search for their name on the Commission’s voter services portal or the Voter Helpline app, using their EPIC (voter ID) number or personal details. If the name is missing and the state’s claims window is still open, the voter can file a claim. Where the SIR is over, the route is Form 6, the standard form for new enrolment, which can be filed online or through the BLO during the special drive. The Delhi High Court has held that voters deleted in the SIR can apply again through Form 6.
The next dates to watch are 30 October, the last day for claims in Delhi; 9 November, Telangana’s final roll; 16 November, Maharashtra’s; and 4 December, Delhi’s. Our earlier reports cover the Anti-SIR People’s March and the NSUI march seeking the CEC’s resignation.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many names have been deleted in the SIR?
More than 13 crore names have been left out of draft voter lists across the three phases: over 7.2 crore in the first two and about 6.15 crore in the third. Final figures are lower in states where names were added back after claims.
Which state had the most SIR deletions?
In the third phase, Maharashtra had the most in number, about 2.07 crore, and Delhi the highest share, 32.78% of its electors. In the second phase, Uttar Pradesh left 2.89 crore names out of its draft.
My name was deleted in the SIR. What can I do?
If your state is still taking claims, file one. If the SIR is over, apply with Form 6 online or through your BLO. The Election Commission has ordered a special drive to enrol voters left out.
Did the Supreme Court approve the SIR?
Yes. On 27 May 2026 it upheld the Election Commission’s power to conduct the SIR, while holding that the Commission cannot finally decide a person’s citizenship.
Source: Election Commission of India data and schedules, as reported; All India Radio on the Supreme Court’s SIR judgment, 27 May 2026; All India Radio on the second-phase announcement. Also based on reporting by Deccan Herald, PTI / Deccan Herald, The Wire, The Wire (judgment), Newslaundry, Deccan Chronicle, Scroll, Sabrang India, PTI / The Tribune, India TV, The South First, Business Today, The News Minute, Deccan Chronicle (third phase) and Organiser.
Image: Deccan Herald.
