Poll Roll Revision Prep Begins In Delhi, Voters Asked To Check Names
There will be a nationwide 'special intensive revision' of voter lists for each state and union territory - against a base year of 2002 - that must be completed by October 26, 2025, "without fail", the Election Commission said Tuesday.
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The Delhi Chief Electoral Officer has commenced preparations for a 'special intensive revision' of voter lists in the national capital, as per an Election Commission notification issued on Tuesday. The verification drive is scheduled to be completed by October 26, 2025.
Voters are being asked to verify their names and those of their parents on the 2002 list. "This verification will facilitate house-to-house visits for document collection," stated the Delhi CEO.
If names are missing or contain discrepancies, voters must provide identity proof with the enumeration form, along with an extract from the 2002 list - which has been made available on the Delhi CEO's website.
Current Assembly constituencies have been mapped against their 2002 counterparts to assist voters who have relocated in the past two decades. Recent data indicates Delhi has approximately 83.4 lakh male and 71.74 lakh female voters registered.
As these state-specific Special Intensive Revisions (SIRs) roll out, new political protests and legal challenges are anticipated from opposition parties, which have accused the Election Commission and ruling BJP of 'collusion' in alleged voter fraud.
The nationwide SIR notification follows controversy over a similar exercise in Bihar, which the EC ordered shortly before scheduled elections in that state.
Bihar is expected to conduct Assembly elections by November.
Opposition parties, already critical of the government regarding alleged 'voter fraud' in last year's Lok Sabha and Maharashtra elections, protested the Bihar SIR, claiming its timing was designed to disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of voters from marginalized communities who might support opposition candidates.
The Election Commission maintains that the revision aims to ensure only eligible Indian citizens can vote, citing the discovery of Nepali and Bangladeshi nationals on Bihar's electoral rolls. The Bihar SIR reduced the state's registered voters to under 7.24 crore from the previous 7.9 crore.
According to the poll body, the 65 lakh removed voters included 22 lakh deceased individuals who remained listed, 36 lakh who had relocated from Bihar or couldn't be located, and approximately seven lakh with duplicate registrations.
The Bihar SIR sparked intense legal debates in the Supreme Court, which ultimately ruled that the process could be terminated if illegality is proven, while firmly refusing to halt the revision, affirming the Election Commission's constitutional authority to update voter lists as deemed necessary.
With input from agencies