Maharashtra SIR draft list is out, down by 2 crore voters

The draft voter list for Maharashtra’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR), released on Monday, reveals a dramatic decrease of 2 crore voters compared to the previous electoral roll. Notably, Mumbai has seen a reduction of 36 lakh voters. This substantial drop raises concerns about voter engagement and representation in the upcoming elections.

The electoral roll used till June had 9.8 crore voters, while the draft SIR roll has 7.7 crore voters, which is 21.1% lower. However, in real terms there are 1.9 crore less voters in the state on the draft list since 17 lakh voters were removed from one constituency owing to duplication, but have been retained in the other. Around 1.5 crore of the 2 crore voters whose names have been excluded will have the opportunity to apply to be on the SIR list until September 30. First-time voters who turned 18 before October 1, can also apply to be on the SIR voter list during this one-month period. “Around 34 lakh voters were reported dead, while 17 lakh were related to duplicate registrations. If citizens have been excluded from the list after they filled out the enumeration form and even if they have missed filling the enumeration form, they can fill out Form 6 to be included on the SIR voter list. They can also fill out Form 7 for deletion from the list and Form 8 for corrections in name, address, gender and so on.

Because their enumeration forms were not collected owing to voters being reported as Absent, Dead, Duplicate or having Shifted (ASDD) their residence, the reduction in voters is. Because they were absent or had shifted residence, have the opportunity to apply to be on the electoral roll,” said Chockalingam, hence, around 1.5 crore of the 2 crore voters whose names have been excluded.

“The 17 lakh duplicate voters cannot be considered as excluded,” said state chief electoral officer S Chockalingam. This is the phase of filing claims and objections to the draft roll. Citizens can check their names on the draft roll on the ECI portal https://voters.eci.gov.in and website of the state’s chief electoral officer https://ceoelection.maharashtra.gov.in/ceo/ as well as the website of the district election officers. The draft rolls are also available with recognised political parties at the district level. These forms can be filled out online on the above sites. Also, citizens can approach electoral registration officers in their assembly constituency — their addresses are on the website of the state’s chief electoral officer. Citizens can also approach booth level officers or block level agents appointed by political parties.