Delhi's Draft Electoral Roll Sees 47.7 Lakh Exclusions

The draft electoral roll for Delhi has been released, showing that 47.7 lakh of the capital's 1.45 crore voters are not included. This comes after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) was conducted, and it indicates that approximately one in three voters has been excluded. The final electoral roll is set to be published on November 4.

Ashok Kumar, the Chief Electoral Officer of Delhi, announced that voters who have been omitted can apply for inclusion. They must submit Form 6 along with necessary documents by September 30. Individuals can verify their names on the Election Commission’s voter services portal.

The recent data also highlighted that Delhi recorded the highest percentage of deletions among all participating states and Union Territories, with 33 per cent of electors excluded. In absolute terms, more than 47 lakh deletion marks one of the highest figures across the country. A polling official attributed the significant exclusion to Delhi's status as the national capital, which hosts a large transient population.

According to the Election Commission, the review process for claims and objections will continue until October 29. The draft contains about 97.5 lakh electors whose enumeration forms were collected during the house-to-house SIR that ran from June 30 to August 17. Approximately 67.18 per cent of Delhi's total electors had their information digitised during this period. The excluded figure of 47.7 lakh is classified under the Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate and Others (ASDDO) categories.

There was noticeable variation in the digitisation rates across Delhi’s 70 Assembly constituencies. Rohini in northwest Delhi had the highest digitisation rate at 83.43 per cent, while Tughlakabad in southeast Delhi recorded the lowest at 52.15 per cent. The SIR was intended to ensure a more accurate electoral roll through direct engagement with households. Voters who did not submit their enumeration forms during the SIR can still seek to have their names included through the ongoing claims and objections process.