The Election Commission of India has published the draft electoral rolls for Gujarat following a major cleanup drive, resulting in a significant reduction in the number of registered voters. The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise has led to the omission of approximately 74 lakh names from the state's voter list.
Massive Cleanup: Gujarat's Voter Count Drops by 73.73 Lakh
State Chief Electoral Officer Hareet Shukla confirmed the details on Friday. The total number of registered voters in Gujarat stood at 5,08,43,436 before the revision. After the publication of the draft rolls, this figure has been reduced to 4,34,70,109 electors.
This means a total of 73,73,327 voters have been removed from the draft electoral roll during the SIR campaign. The exercise, which began on November 4, was conducted to purify the rolls and concluded on December 14.
Who Has Been Removed? Breakdown of Omitted Voters
The CEO's office provided a detailed categorization of the voters whose names were deleted. The removals were not arbitrary but based on specific criteria established by the Election Commission.
The largest category consists of voters who have permanently migrated, accounting for 40,25,553 deletions. This is followed by deceased voters (18,07,278) and absent voters (9,69,662).
Furthermore, the cleanup identified and removed 3,81,470 voters registered in multiple locations. A residual category of 'others' accounted for 1,89,364 removals.
What Should Voters Do Next? Claim and Objection Window Open
The publication of the draft roll is not the final list. The Election Commission has provided a window for citizens to ensure their names are correctly included. Voters who cannot find their names on the draft electoral roll must follow the EC's prescribed procedure to correct the omission.
The deadline to submit objections and claims is January 18. Citizens have multiple channels to apply for inclusion or correction:
- Fill out and submit Form 6, along with Annexure-IV, to your Booth Level Officer (BLO).
- Apply online via the official portal: voters.eci.gov.in.
- Use the dedicated mobile applications: E-NET or ECINET App.
This rigorous revision underscores the Election Commission's ongoing effort to maintain accurate and credible electoral rolls, a cornerstone of free and fair elections. Voters in Gujarat are urged to verify their enrollment status promptly and utilize the available recourse mechanisms before the final list is published.
