Nearly 3cr voters struck off as UP draft rolls published; those left out have till Feb 6 to file objection | India News

NEW DELHI: About 2.9 crore electors, making up 18.7% of Uttar Pradesh’s 15.4 crore electorate as it stood at the launch of special intensive revision (SIR) in the state on Oct 27, 2025, have been struck off the state’s draft electoral roll published on Tuesday.UP’s draft electoral roll published following the enumeration phase of SIR-Phase 2 lists over 12.5 crore electors; while deleting 46.2 lakh (2.99%) on account of being deceased; 2.17 crore (14.1%) for having permanently shifted or found untraceable or absent during visits by the booth level officers (BLOs); and 25.5 lakh (1.6%) for being enrolled at multiple places.

Sources further indicated that while the percentage of electors found permanently shifted from their polling areas in UP is around 8.4%, those marked as untraceable or absent are over 5.1%. An official said the higher rate of permanently shifted electors in UP (8.4%), as compared to Bihar (4.6%) may not be surprising, citing a Down to Earth survey from 2021 that put the overall migration rate for UP at around 28.4% as against 14.2% for Bihar. District-wise draft electoral rolls published on Tuesday show that Lucknow recorded the highest rate of deletions of permanently shifted electors (13.4%), followed by Ghaziabad (12.7%) and Meerut (11.6%).

As per district-wise draft voter lists, the percentage of overall deletions in 22 of UP’s 75 districts exceeds the state’s average 18.7% deletions. These districts include Lucknow (with over 30% deletions), Ghaziabad (28.8%), Balrampur (almost 26%) and Kanpur Nagar (25.5%); the exclusions in the four districts amount to more than one-fourth of their total electorate as it stood on Oct 27, 2025. Meerut has recorded the least deletions at 9.9%, followed by Hamirpur at 10.8%. A study of deletions however shows no pattern on lines like the religious composition of districts or proximity to the international border.A statement put out by the UP chief electoral officer (CEO) on Tuesday explained that the BLOs did not find the ‘deleted’ electors or did not get back their enumeration forms because they “have shifted permanently to somewhere else from their previous place of residence; were found missing or absent from the concerned polling area, or somehow did not submit the form, till Dec 26, 2025”.

The statement however added that genuine electors excluded from the draft roll can still be added back during the claims and objection period from Jan 6 to Feb 6, 2026 by filling up Form-6 along with the declaration form and submitting relevant documents to prove their eligibility.“The name of the electors found enrolled at multiple places in electoral rolls will be retained only at one place,” said the UP CEO.The notice period, covering hearings and verification, will stretch from Jan 6 to Feb 27, 2026, followed by publication of the final electoral roll of the state on March 6, 2026.Electors wanting to check the names in UP draft electoral roll may refer to the copy available with local BLO or visit the ECINet app or website of the UP CEO or ECI.Meanwhile, young electors who have attained 18 years of age on or before 01.01.2026 are being encouraged to apply through Form-6 along with the prescribed declaration form and relevant documents. So far 15.8 lakh Form 6 (with or without declaration) have been collected across UP for inclusion of new electors.Booth-level lists of electors reported as deceased, permanently migrated, untraceable, or whose forms were not received have already been shared with the parties’ booth level agents (BLAs) for verification. Printed and digital booth-wise copies have been provided to all recognised parties and also made available on the CEO’s website.The entire election machinery, supported by volunteers, is assisting electors, particularly senior citizens, persons with disabilities and vulnerable groups. As per Para 5(b) of SIR guidelines, no name shall be deleted from the draft roll without notice and a speaking order by the electoral registration officer (ERO)/Assistant ERO. Any aggrieved elector may seek redressal through a two-stage appeal process, first by approaching the district magistrate and finally the state CEO.EC on Tuesday reiterated “its firm commitment to a transparent, participative and inclusive revision process, ensuring that no eligible elector is left out and no ineligible name remains in the electoral roll”.EC is undertaking SIR exercise in UP, along with others 11 states/UTs covered in Phase 2. “with full transparency at every stage of the process,” said a spokesperson.A total of 12.5 crore of UP’s 15.4 crore of electors submitted their enumeration forms till the last date of enumeration period i.e., 26.12.2025 “reflecting an overwhelming participation in the first leg of SIR,” UP CEO office said on Tuesday.It attributed the successful completion of enumeration phase to the coordinated efforts of district election officers (DEOs) of all 75 districts, 403 EROs, 2,042 AEROs (AEROs) and BLOs deployed at over 1.6 lakh polling booths, supported by volunteers. Field representatives of all recognised political parties, including their district presidents and 5.7 lakh BLAs, also played their part. To ensure universal awareness and participation during the enumeration period, the state CEO, DEOs and EROs conducted extensive awareness campaigns and held multiple meetings with political parties to explain the process and share the progress updates. BLOs conducted booth-level meetings with BLAs, who were allowed to file up to 50 enumeration forms per day to ensure their active involvement in SIR.BLOs carried out house-to-house visits to all electors whose names were in the electoral roll as on 27.10.2025 to distribute enumeration forms, followed by at least three visits for collection.