Biggest cleaning of voter lists, 6.5 crore names deleted in 12 states, major change in electoral system

For the first time in the country, such a big campaign to purify voter lists has been launched. The Election Commission conducted a special in-depth review or SIR in 12 states and union territories. In the first phase itself, about 6 crore 50 lakh names were removed from the draft list. These include dead voters, people who have changed their place, names registered at two places and voters who have been absent for a long time. According to the Commission, this step was necessary for electoral transparency. This will reduce the possibility of fake voting.

Why were most names cut in Uttar Pradesh?

The most shocking figures came out from Uttar Pradesh. Here alone 2.89 crore names were found wrong. This is the largest figure in the country. Commission officials say that due to the large population in UP, the list was not updated for a long time. After this, 97.37 lakh names were removed in Tamil Nadu. 73.73 lakh names in Gujarat and 58.20 lakh names in West Bengal were excluded from the list. It is clear that the problem was not limited to just one state.

Were irregularities found in other states also?

Apart from Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, a large number of wrong entries were found in many states. 42.74 lakh names were removed in Madhya Pradesh, 41.85 lakh in Rajasthan and 27.34 lakh in Chhattisgarh. In Kerala also, 24 lakh records were found invalid. The Commission says that all these names have been removed after investigation. The process was completely based on documentation and field verification.

What should the public do after the release of the draft list?

Except Uttar Pradesh, the draft voter list has been released in remaining 11 states. The list of Uttar Pradesh will be released on December 31. The Commission has clearly said that if someone’s name has been removed by mistake or has been added wrongly, then objection can be lodged. The verification process will run from December 23 to February 14. The final voter list will be published on February 21. Political parties have also been asked to keep booth level agents active.

Can more names be removed or added?

According to Election Commission sources, this is only the first phase. Scrutiny of records of those who did not submit census or verification forms during SIR is still underway. Therefore, some more names may be removed or added in future. Before the review started, about 51 crore voters were registered in these 12 states. The Commission believes that till the final list comes, slight changes in the figures are possible.

When will the review take place in the remaining states?

SIR will also be launched in the remaining 23 states and union territories after the release of the final list of the first phase on February 21. These include big states like Punjab, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. This time the Commission is laying special emphasis on the training of booth level officers.

Will the entire system change before 2026?

The Chief Election Commissioner himself is visiting many states and monitoring the training and review. The goal is to complete the purification of voter lists across the country by early 2026. It started from Bihar and now it is being implemented at the national level. The Commission claims that this will make the elections more fair. This is the biggest objective of this entire campaign.