The draft electoral roll for Uttar Pradesh, published after a Special Intensive Revision (SIR), has excluded nearly 2.89 crore voters, retaining 12.55 crore names from the earlier electorate of 15.44 crore, according to officials of the Election Commission of India.
Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa said the exclusions amounting to 18.70 per cent of the electorate were due to deaths, permanent migration and duplicate registrations identified during a door-to-door verification exercise conducted across the state.
However, while the aggregate figures have been disclosed, district- and city-wise details of deletions are yet to be officially released, prompting concerns and political scrutiny, especially in urban constituencies.
‘Clean-up’ Drive Hits Big Cities the Hardest
The Election Commission has said that the impact of the special revision exercise has been felt most strongly in Uttar Pradesh’s metropolitan areas and large districts. Due to high population mobility in cities, lakhs of voter names have been deleted from the rolls:
Lucknow: Over 12 lakh names have been removed, the highest in the state
Prayagraj: Around 11.5 lakh names excluded
Kanpur and Agra: About 9 lakh names were let in Kanpur and 8.36 lakh in Agra
Ghaziabad and Noida: More than 8 lakh names deleted in these districts bordering Delhi
Urban districts report high deletions
Though the Election Commission has not issued a formal district-wise break-up, media reports indicate that major urban districts such as Lucknow, Prayagraj, Kanpur, Agra and Ghaziabad have witnessed particularly large deletions, largely attributed to migration and non-availability of voters during verification.
Election officials acknowledged that urban mobility, rented accommodation and absentee voters posed challenges during the enumeration process, which required voters or their family members to fill out and sign enumeration forms.
Reasons for exclusion
According to data shared by the CEO’s office:
46.23 lakh voters were found to be deceased
2.57 crore voters had permanently migrated or were unavailable during verification
25.47 lakh voters were found to have multiple registrations
The SIR exercise covered 1.72 lakh polling booths across 75 districts and 403 assembly constituencies, with the assistance of booth-level officers, volunteers and over 5.76 lakh booth-level agents appointed by recognised political parties.
Roll publication delayed
The draft roll was originally scheduled for publication on December 31 but was delayed due to parallel fieldwork, including the rationalisation of polling stations following the Commission’s decision to cap voters per booth at 1,200, down from 1,500.
As part of this process, over 15,000 new polling stations were created across Uttar Pradesh, officials said.
Claims and objections window opens
A claims and objections period from January 6 to February 6 has now begun, during which voters can apply for inclusion, seek corrections, or object to entries in the draft roll.
Election officials have urged voters, particularly those in urban areas, to verify their names and submit applications within the stipulated period, noting that the final roll will be published only after disposing of all claims and objections.
