Delhi’s SIR Draft Roll Leaves Nearly One In Three Voters Out

Nearly one in three registered voters in Delhi has been left out of the draft Special Intensive Revision (SIR) electoral roll published by the Election Commission on Monday morning.

The draft roll includes 97,53,577 voters. Names of 47,56,722 out of 1.45 crore registered voters are missing because they did not submit their details during the one-and-a-half-month verification exercise across 70 assembly constituencies.

Election officials said many voters were not found at their registered addresses. Others had shifted within Delhi or moved out of the city. Delhi Chief Electoral Officer figures show enumeration forms for 67.2% of the electorate were submitted and digitised. The remaining 32.8% were classified as Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate and Others, or ASDDO.

People whose names are missing from the draft roll can file claims and objections between Aug 31 and Sept 30.

Officials will examine the claims for inclusion in the electoral roll, and booth-level officers will conduct field visits to verify them. If the details are found to be in order, the names will be added to the final SIR electoral roll, due on Nov 4.

Verification Exercise Details

Many voters were not at their registered addresses when officials checked them. Others had shifted within Delhi or left the city during the exercise.

Figures from the Delhi Chief Electoral Officer show enumeration forms covering 67.2% of the electorate were collected and digitised. The other 32.8% were tagged as Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate and Others, or ASDDO.

The drive covered all 70 assembly constituencies in the capital. About 13,000 booth-level officers distributed enumeration forms across 13 districts, the Delhi Chief Electoral Officer’s office informed.

Reporting Timeline

Earlier reported on July 26 that around 20% of Delhi’s registered voters were not found at their addresses during the door-to-door checks.

It reported again on Aug 18 that nearly one in three voters in Delhi were likely to be struck off the draft electoral roll. Election Commission figures as of Aug 31 show 67.2% of Delhi’s 1,45,10,299 registered voters had been verified.

That leaves about 47.5 lakh voters outside the verified pool. They were marked “uncollectable” and grouped as ASDDO voters.

Claims And Final Roll

Voters left out of the draft roll have a one-month window to seek inclusion.

They can submit claims and objections between Aug 31 and Sept 30. Officials will assess each request for possible entry into the electoral roll.

Booth-level officers will visit the field to check the submitted details. If the records are found to be in order, the names will be added to the final SIR electoral roll. The final list is scheduled for Nov 4, and the assembly-wise breakup of deleted names is still awaited.

The SIR drive began on June 30. It was launched to update Delhi’s electoral rolls and remove ineligible entries. The exercise had originally been set to end on July 29. That deadline was extended three times before the draft roll was published.