1.70 crore voters' names deleted in 9 states and union territories, with Gujarat having the largest number of deletions.

News Topical, Digital Desk : The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) drive carried out by the Election Commission of India (EC) has recorded massive changes in voter lists. The total number of voters has decreased by over 1.70 crore after the final publication of electoral rolls in nine states and union territories, according to official data released on Saturday. 

When the SIR process began on October 27 last year, these states had a total of 214.5 million registered voters. After the publication of the final list, this number has dropped to 197.5 million. This list includes Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Goa, Puducherry, Lakshadweep, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

How many names were removed in Gujarat?

According to the data, Gujarat saw the highest net deletions, with 6,812,711 voters being deleted from the list. A total of 6,812,711 voters were deleted, bringing the total number of voters in the state down from 5,08,43,436 to 4,40,30,725, a decline of 13.40%. 

Madhya Pradesh also saw a significant drop, with 3,425,078 voters removed from the list. The voter count has dropped from 57.4 million to 53.9 million. Similarly, Rajasthan saw a drop of 3.136 million voters, and Chhattisgarh saw a drop of approximately 2.499 million. Kerala saw a drop of 897,211 voters, and Goa saw a drop of 127,468 voters.

Union Territories figures?

In the Union Territories, 52,364 voters were deleted in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, 77,367 in Puducherry, and 206 in Lakshadweep. Election officials say this "net change" reflects ineligible voters removed from the list, adjusted for the number of newly added eligible voters.

SIR process underway in 12 states

The Election Commission's campaign hasn't stopped yet. The process is currently underway in 12 states, with SIR data for Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu expected to be released by the end of this month. The Commission has also directed the Chief Electoral Officers of the remaining states to begin preparations. As part of the nationwide voter list verification campaign, the next phase of the SIR process is scheduled to begin in April this year. However, the Commission has also assured that voter list updating is a continuous process and eligible citizens can still apply for corrections or name additions.

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