SIR draft rolls see over 13 crore deletions so far, Delhi leads with 33% left out

SIR draft rolls see over 13 crore deletions so far, Delhi leads with 33% left out According to data published by the Chief Electoral Officers of Delhi and Maharashtra, the total number of electors dropped from 1.45 crore pre-SIR to 97.53 lakh.

Key points

• One Nation One Election On NDA table: Joint polls for 22 states/UTs with Lok Sabha 2029.
• 4 min read New Delhi Sep 1, 2026 05: 20 AM IST.
• In Delhi, the data indicated that almost a third (29.86%) of electors were marked absent/ shifted/ others, 1.95% deceased, and 0.98% enrolled at multiple places.
• This brings the total deletions in the third phase of the SIR in 17 States/ UTs to 6.15 crore so far.
• The Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

As per the EC's schedule, those incorrectly deleted in the draft roll can apply for inclusion in the final roll over the next one month. (File photo).

Meanwhile, the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. It began in June last year, has led to over 13 crore names being deleted from the draft rolls in 30 States/ Union Territories so far, with Delhi and Maharashtra draft rolls published on Monday showing a cut of 32.8% and 21.1%, respectively.

According to data published by the Chief Electoral Officers of Delhi and Maharashtra, the total number of electors dropped from 1.45 crore pre-SIR to 97.53 lakh in the draft roll, and 9.78 crore to 7.71 crore, respectively. This brings the total deletions in the third phase of the SIR in 17 States/ UTs to 6.15 crore so far.

In Maharashtra, a CEO office statement indicated that 3.56% of the electors were marked deceased, 15.78% permanently shifted/ absent/ others and 1.81% enrolled at multiple places, leading to their names being deleted from the draft roll.

For context, the EC had began the SIR with Bihar in June last year. The second round was confirmed in October 2025, covering nine states and three UTs.

In the third phase, the EC covered the rest of the country, barring Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, where it remarked the SIR would be held at a afterwards date due to the ongoing Census work and weather conditions, and Assam, where it confirmed that it would not conduct an SIR until the pending National Register of Citizens was published in the state.

So far, the SIR has led to the deletion of 13.37 crore names in the draft rolls throughout the three phases or a 14.1% deletion from pre-SIR rolls. Delhi has recorded the highest deletions so far, at 32.80%, followed by 29.60% in Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, 21.70% in Telangana, 21.10% in Maharashtra, and 20.60% in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, according to EC data.

For the past two decades, the EC had not conducted intensive revisions (where the electoral rolls are prepared afresh), opting to conduct annual and pre-poll special summary revisions instead, where additions and deletions were created to existing rolls.

In the SIR, the EC evolved a new procedure that requires all registered electors to submit enumeration forms within a one-month enumeration phase, "map" themselves with their names or their parents' names in the roll of the last intensive revision that was held in the early 2000s, and submit documents to establish their eligibility.

In practice, a batch of petitions had challenged the EC's June 24, 2025 order of the SIR in the Supreme Court, questioning the commission's powers and process adopted in the SIR. The Supreme Court upheld the SIR order in its judgment in May this year.

For now, SIR draft rolls see over 13 crore deletions so far, Delhi leads remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.