New Delhi / Lucknow:
The draft electoral rolls released in Uttar Pradesh have excluded nearly 2.9 crore voters, accounting for around 18.7 percent of the state’s total electorate of 15.4 crore at the start of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process launched on November 4 last year.
Voters whose names are missing from the draft list can submit claims and objections until February 6. The final voter list is scheduled to be published on March 6.
According to Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa, a statewide door-to-door verification drive across all 75 districts and 403 assembly constituencies resulted in the retention of about 12.5 crore voters. The remaining names were removed for various reasons identified during the enumeration process.
“UP draft electoral rolls” District-wise data shows that 22 districts recorded deletion rates higher than the state average. Lucknow topped the list with a 30 percent deletion rate, followed by Ghaziabad at 28.8 percent, Balrampur at 26 percent, and Kanpur Nagar at 25.5 percent.
The reasons for deletion varied. Officials found that around 1.3 crore voters, or 8.4 percent of the electorate, had permanently migrated out of the state. Another 25.5 lakh voters were registered in more than one location. Nearly 79.5 lakh voters could not be traced during verification, while 46.2 lakh were reported deceased. About 7.7 lakh voters did not submit the required enumeration forms.
In Lucknow alone, over 5.3 lakh of the 12 lakh deleted names belonged to voters who chose to shift their registration back to their native places. An additional 4.2 lakh voters in the city could not be traced.
On the other end of the spectrum, Lalitpur reported the lowest deletion rate at 9.9 percent, with Hamirpur and Mahoba following at 10.8 percent and 12.4 percent respectively.
Rinwa also highlighted that more than one crore voters have been placed in an “unmapped” category. These individuals could not establish linkage with earlier electoral rolls, including the 2003 SIR list. Notices will be issued to them over the next month, asking for submission of any one of 12 approved documents to verify eligibility.
During the enumeration phase, over 15.7 lakh applications were received through Form 6 for new voter registration. These names will be included in the final rolls after verification.
Officials noted that the high number of voters marked as permanently shifted aligns with broader migration trends in the state. A 2021 survey had estimated Uttar Pradesh’s migration rate at over 28 percent, significantly higher than Bihar’s.
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The voter verification process faced multiple deadline extensions due to the large number of exclusions detected during fieldwork. Although the draft rolls were initially expected by December 31, administrative adjustments and polling station rationalisation delayed their release.
Election authorities will continue processing claims and objections until February 27, after which the final electoral rolls will be prepared.
