Over 1 crore names dropped as draft electoral rolls shrink 7.6% across 5 states and UTs

The Election Commission has released draft electoral rolls after a Special Intensive Revision in five states and Union Territories. The update shows a sharp contraction in voter lists. Overall, the electorate fell by 7.6 percent. More than 1.02 crore names no longer appear on the rolls.

Data from Chief Electoral Officers shows the scale of change. On October 27, when the Commission announced the revision, the five regions together listed 13.35 crore voters. By Tuesday, the draft rolls showed 12.33 crore electors. The gap reflects deletions flagged during field verification and form collection.

Meanwhile, the draft rolls include voters who submitted enumeration forms during the drive that began on November 4. Officials marked the remaining names under clear categories. These include shifted or absent voters, deceased persons, and duplicate or multiple enrollments. Notably, the overall reduction mirrors the Bihar revision in August, which also saw about an eight percent drop.

Rajasthan recorded the biggest numerical impact. State CEO Naveen Mahajan said officials removed about 42 lakh names. That equals roughly 7.66 percent of the state’s electorate. The breakup shows 8.75 lakh deceased voters, 29.6 lakh permanently shifted or absent voters, and 3.44 lakh duplicate entries.

Moreover, officials explained why many names fell under the shifted or absent category. Booth Level Officers could not find these voters during house visits. In several cases, voters had enrolled in other states or UTs. In others, addresses no longer existed, forms did not reach officials by the December 11 deadline, or individuals chose not to register.

Importantly, officials excluded Anta Assembly data due to a recent by-election. At the district level, Jaipur alone lost over 5.3 lakh names. Ajmer, Kota, Alwar, Sikar, and Pali each saw deletions exceeding one lakh. To ensure transparency, Mahajan said officers shared booth-level lists with party-appointed Booth Level Agents for verification.

At the same time, Mahajan stressed that the draft does not end the process. He urged genuine voters to file claims during the objection window. That period runs from December 17, 2025, to January 15, 2026. Authorities will publish the final rolls on February 14.

Goa also saw notable changes. CEO Sanjay Goel said 11,85,034 electors appeared on earlier rolls. Of these, 10,84,992 submitted forms, a compliance rate of 91.56 percent. Consequently, officials removed 1,00,042 names. The deletions include 25,574 deaths, 29,729 untraceable or absent voters, 40,469 permanent migrants, and 1,997 duplicate enrollments. Another 2,273 opted out of registration. North Goa lost 44,639 names, while South Goa lost 55,403.

In Puducherry, the draft rolls show a drop of more than 1.03 lakh names. Officials could not collect 1,03,467 forms out of 10,21,578 distributed. Reasons included death, migration, duplication, and non-submission. As a result, the draft now lists 9,18,111 electors. The data shows 20,798 deaths, 80,645 shifted or absent voters, and 2,024 duplicate entries. Puducherry district accounted for the largest share, followed by Karaikal, Mahe, and Yanam.

Overall, election officials say the revision aims to improve accuracy. They also say the claims process remains open to correct errors before the final publication.