Mumbai: Maharashtra’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) on Thursday clarified that the recently published draft electoral roll under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) program is not the final voter list.
The clarification comes in response to media reports claiming that the total number of voters in the draft list published under the SIR drive is lower than the total votes cast during the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections.
Addressing these reports, the state CEO, in a statement detailing the factual situation, said that the primary focus during the first phase of the SIR-2026 was to verify the actual residential status of voters. Consequently, individuals who were not found residing at the addresses provided in their application forms have not been included in the current draft electoral roll. Voters who are currently absent or have relocated from their registered addresses but continue to reside within the state of Maharashtra can now apply to register their names in the voter list corresponding to their current place of residence, it was stressed.
Names of deceased voters have been removed from the list. Meanwhile, the registration process for new voters who turned 18 years old after October 1, 2024, is currently underway. Citizens whose names were left out during the first phase due to prolonged absence or other reasons can still apply for voter registration.
The current phase of the SIR drive is explicitly focused on enrolling new and missing voters to ensure that no eligible citizen is left out. The entire SIR exercise will be completed in early November. The Chief Electoral Officer emphasised that comparing the current draft electoral roll with earlier figures (which were based on the final list of the summary revision) is entirely improper and misleading.
The office of the State CEO stated that any valid comparison or analysis can only be conducted after the release of the official final voter list. Premature conclusions drawn before then risk spreading misunderstandings among the public. It has requested all stakeholders, media representatives, and citizens to await the official publication of the final electoral roll before drawing comparisons or evaluating the voter numbers.
(IANS)
