India's Draft Voter Rolls Released After Special Intensive Revision, Potential Deletions Across 5 States and 2 UTs

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The Election Commission of India (ECI) has published draft electoral rolls in three states and two Union Territories following the completion of the first phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). The exercise has led to potential deletions in the 7.5%-10% range in some regions. In West Bengal, which is set to go to polls next summer, nearly 5.82 million names were dropped from the draft roll, accounting for around 7.6% of the state's total electorate of 76.6 million. The state chief electoral officer attributed the deletions to 2.41 million names marked as deceased, 3.26 million as shifted or absent, and 138,000 as 'enrolled in multiple places'. Rajasthan saw the removal of around 4.19 million names from the draft roll, translating to a deletion percentage of 7.7%. State Chief Electoral Officer Naveen Mahajan cited the inability to collect enumeration forms for 4.185 million voters out of the state's total electorate of 54.6 million. In Goa, the SIR resulted in the deletion of 100,042 names from the draft roll, marking a deletion percentage of 8.44%. The draft roll flagged 25,574 electors as deceased, 72,471 as shifted or absent, and 1,997 as enrolled at multiple places. Puducherry witnessed the removal of 103,467 names from the draft list, a deletion percentage of 10.1%. The Union Territory had 1,021,578 electors at the beginning of the SIR, and enumeration forms were collected from 918,111 electors. The publication of the draft rolls marks the beginning of the claims and objections period, which will remain open until January 15. Electors whose names have been deleted or wrongly included can file claims or objections seeking correction or inclusion. Hearings and verification will continue until February 7, and the final electoral rolls will be published on February 14. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has welcomed the SIR, while Congress and the TMC have raised concerns about potential wrongful deletions. The exercise has sparked debate, with the BJP alleging that the TMC had a large number of 'fake' or 'ghost' voters. The draft rolls have been uploaded on the websites of the respective Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) and District Electoral Officers (DEOs), besides being shared in hard copy with recognised political parties. The ECI has clarified that names deleted at the draft stage were not final and that electors could seek inclusion during the claims and objections period.