Maharashtra, Sept. 1 -- More than 2 crore electors, or 21.14 per cent of Maharashtra's previous voter base, have not been included in the state's draft electoral roll following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists.
The draft roll for all 288 Assembly constituencies, published on Monday, includes 7,71,65,562 electors, compared with 9,78,54,049 in the previous voter base. The revised list therefore covers 78.86 per cent of the earlier electorate. According to election authorities, 2,06,88,487 electors were left out because their enumeration forms could not be collected. This includes people who were absent or could not be traced at their registered addresses, had moved elsewhere, were deceased, had duplicate or multiple registrations, or were registered at another location. Those who did not fill out or submit their enumeration forms are also part of this category. Pune recorded the highest number of uncollectable forms at 28.6 lakh, followed by Thane with 28.5 lakh, Mumbai Suburban with 26.5 lakh, Nagpur with 14.43 lakh, Nashik with 10.27 lakh and Mumbai City with 9.5 lakh.
Voters whose names are missing from the draft roll can file claims and objections between August 31 and September 30. Those seeking inclusion can submit Form 6, while objections to entries can be filed through Form 7. Corrections to details such as name, address, age or gender can be requested through Form 8. The claims and objections process, along with notices, will continue until October 29. The final electoral roll is scheduled to be published on November 4. The large-scale exclusions have also triggered a political row. The Congress said the figures supported its earlier allegations of irregularities in voter lists and revived its "vote chori" charge.
Congress leader Pawan Khera questioned why concerns raised by the party over an increase in voter numbers between the 2024 Lok Sabha and Maharashtra Assembly elections had earlier been dismissed. He also pointed to the addition of nearly 40 lakh electors in the five-month period between the two elections. Khera questioned why nearly 2 crore voters were now being excluded if the earlier voter list had been considered accurate, and alleged that the development raised questions about the legitimacy of the 2024 Maharashtra election outcome.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.