New Delhi: The number of voters across Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab and Manipur came down by up to 13.24 per cent after the completion of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list, data shows.
The five states will go for assembly polls early next year.
According to data made public by the Election Commission and state chief electoral officers in recent past, across these five states, the electorate shrank from about 18.71 crore to 16.43 crore after SIR, a net reduction of around 2.29 crore — about 12.2 per cent.
Uttar Pradesh, which has the biggest electorate among states, alone accounted for nearly 90 per cent of the total drop.
In UP, which went for SIR in phase II, the electors went from 15.44 crore pre-SIR to 12.56 crore in the draft roll, then 13.40 crore in the final rolls.
The net loss stood at around 2.04 crore or 13.24 per cent, the steepest among the five states.
The draft removed about 2.89 crore names, and about 0.84 crore (roughly 29 per cent) were restored.
In Punjab, where SIR was held in phase III, the electors went from 2.15 crore to 1.94 crore in the draft, then 2.01 crore in the final rolls. The net loss in the number of voters was about 0.14 crore or 6.34 per cent.
It had the strongest recovery. About 0.07 crore of the roughly 0.21 crore draft deletions (about 34 per cent) came back to the rolls.
In Uttarakhand, where poll roll revision was held in phase III, electors went from 0.80 crore to 0.71 crore, ending at 0.72 crore. The net loss of voter base was about 0.08 crore or 10.07 per cent.
Only about 0.0025 crore returned, around three per cent of draft deletions.
SIR was held in phase III in Manipur, where electors went from 0.209 crore to 0.193 crore, and ended at 0.196 crore.
The net loss of voters was about 0.013 crore or 6.33 per cent, similar to Punjab.
About 17 per cent of draft deletions were restored, the data shows.
In Goa, where SIR was held in phase II, the electors went from 0.1185 crore to 0.1085 crore, then fell further to 0.1058 crore. In Goa, the net loss was nearly 0.013 crore or 10.76 per cent.
Goa is the only one of the five where the final roll is smaller than the draft, so there was no net restoration.
While ordering special summary revision in 17 states recently, the EC had noted that assembly polls in the five states could be held “early next year”.
The ongoing special summary revision ahead of polls will ensure that left-out voters get a fresh chance to get included in the electoral rolls.
The young voters who turn 18 on or before January 1 will get an opportunity to be included as voters and can cast their vote in these five states.
While the term of the 403-member UP assembly ends on May 22 next year, the terms of 60-member Manipur, 40-member Goa, 117-member Punjab and 70-member Uttarakhand assembly end on different dates in March 2027.
Provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, allow the EC to hold polls “earlier than six months before the term expires”.
