10 September,2026 11:51 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
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The Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Maharashtra has flagged technical discrepancies in the enumeration records of more than 1.22 crore voters included in the state's draft electoral roll.
The exercise is aimed at cleaning and updating the voter database. Electoral authorities have issued notices to voters whose records contain discrepancies, asking them to provide documentary evidence to establish their eligibility.
Before the SIR exercise began, Maharashtra had 9,78,54,049 registered voters. Following field verification of enumeration forms, the Election Commission published the draft electoral roll on August 31 with 7,71,65,562 voters, or 78.86 per cent of the earlier electorate.
The retained voters include 3,95,89,905 men, 3,75,72,570 women and 3,087 transgender voters.
Around 2,06,88,487 voters, or 21.14 per cent of the previous electoral roll, were not included in the draft list. Officials said the exclusions included around 34 lakh deceased voters and approximately 17 lakh duplicate entries found across constituencies.
Among the 7.71 crore voters retained in the draft roll, discrepancies were identified in the enumeration records of 1,22,24,000 people.
The discrepancies include inconsistent information about relatives in the records of 62,48,281 voters, while 59,75,626 voters were found to have unmapped relatives.
More than one lakh discrepancies were reported in several Assembly constituencies, including Malad, Dharavi, Panvel, Ovala-Majiwada, Kalyan Rural, Khadakwasla, Chinchwad, Hadapsar, Solapur South, Nagpur East, Nagpur West, Nagpur North, Hingna and Badnera.
Notices have been served to affected voters, with their eligibility to remain on the electoral roll subject to verification of additional documents.
State Chief Electoral Officer S. Chockalingam has also directed election authorities to prevent the misuse of the objection process for targeted mass deletions.
The Mumbai Municipal Commissioner and District Collectors have been instructed to exercise caution while dealing with claims and objections. The directions come amid concerns raised by political parties over attempts to target voters belonging to particular communities.
The election machinery has specifically restricted objections under Form-7 to registered voters residing within the same Assembly constituency as the person whose entry is being challenged.
Anyone seeking deletion of a voter's name must provide valid evidence establishing the person's ineligibility.
The voter facing an objection must also be given an opportunity to appear for a hearing and submit supporting evidence before any final decision is taken.
The safeguards are intended to ensure that genuine voters are not removed from the electoral roll through arbitrary or politically motivated objections.
(With inputs from IANS)
