Poll Roll Revision Prep Begins In Delhi, Voters Asked To Check Names

The Delhi Chief Electoral Officer has begun prepping for a 'special intensive revision' of the national capital's voter list ahead of a verification drive to be completed by October 26, 2025, in line with an Election Commission notification that was issued Tuesday.

Voters will be asked to check the 2002 list to verify their names and those of their parents. "This will be helpful during house-to-house visits to collect required documents," the Delhi CEO said.

In cases where the name does not appear, or there is a discrepancy, the voter must submit a proof of identity with the enumeration form, as well an extract of the 2002 list - which has already been uploaded to the Delhi CEO's website, the notice said.

Also, Assembly constituencies as they exist today have been mapped with those used in 2002 to help voters track down their names in case they have shifted residence over the past two decades. The latest data says Delhi has nearly 83.4 lakh male and 71.74 lakh female voters.

A nationwide 'special intensive revision' of voter lists for each state and union territory - against a base year of 2002 - must be completed by October 26 "without fail", the EC had said Tuesday.

As state-specific SIRs roll out, there will likely be fresh political protests and legal challenges from an opposition that has accused the EC and ruling BJP of 'collusion' to commit voter fraud.

The notification for a nationwide 'special intensive revision', dubbed SIR, followed controversy over an exercise in Bihar, which the EC had ordered weeks before an election in that state.

Bihar is expected to hold an Assembly election by November.

The opposition - already attacking the government over 'voter fraud' in last year's Lok Sabha and Maharashtra elections - cried foul over the Bihar SIR, alleging the timing was meant to disenfranchise lakhs of men and women from marginalised groups who might vote for them.

The EC, however, has maintained the revision is to ensure only eligible individuals, i.e., citizens of India, can vote, and has pointed to the discovery of Nepali and Bangladeshi nationals found on Bihar's voter lists. The Bihar SIR reduced registered voters in Bihar to less than 7.24 crore.

It was 7.9 crore before the exercise.

According to the poll body, the 65 lakh voters dumped from the rolls included 22 lakh who had died but remained on lists and 36 lakh who have either permanently shifted from Bihar or were simply not found. Most of the remaining seven lakh were found to have double-registered.

The Bihar SIR saw fierce arguments and challenges in the Supreme Court, culminating in the court this week saying the process could be scrapped, at any time, if illegality is established.

The top court, however, categorically refused to stop the SIR, ruling the Election Commission is allowed, by the Constitution, to revise and re-check voter lists as it sees fit.

With input from agencies