Voters classified as permanently shifted account for nearly half of the 13.39 crore entries in the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision exercise across three phases — emerging as the single largest category in the draft electoral rolls.
Opposition parties are protesting against the Special Intensive Revision, alleging that it is leading to the exclusion of genuine voters. Opposition leaders have repeatedly demanded that the exercise be stopped and questioned the manner in which names have been flagged, turning SIR into a major political flashpoint. They have alleged that the exercise risks disenfranchising genuine voters by removing names from electoral rolls. Parties have questioned the basis on which voters are being classified as absent, shifted, dead or duplicated. They have demanded greater transparency in the verification and deletion process. The protests have intensified as Phase III expands the exercise to more states, with Opposition leaders warning that the burden of proving eligibility could disproportionately affect migrants, the poor and other vulnerable sections. The ECI maintains that the exercise is aimed at cleaning up electoral rolls by identifying voters who are no longer traceable, have permanently shifted, are deceased or are registered more than once, while ensuring that every eligible voter is included. The Commission has simultaneously stressed that the revision process is not limited to identifying names for exclusion. Eligible voters whose names may have been left out during SIR, along with young and first-time voters, are continuing to be added to the rolls.
The ECI data shows 6.30 crore such entries, followed by 3.01 crore voters marked absent or untraceable and 2.80 crore entries about those who have died.
Another 1.02 crore entries have been identified as duplicates and 26 lakh are under the “others” category.
