A report from The Wire dated April 21, 2026, has expressed concerns about the removal of approximately 2.05 crore entries from Uttar Pradesh’s voter registry during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). It raises issues about potential ineligible votes in the 2024 national elections or the erroneous exclusion of legitimate voters, particularly women. The article also notes worries over population increases, a lower gender balance in the voter rolls, and the lack of public access to specific internal documents.
Officials from the Election Commission of India (ECI) and Uttar Pradesh’s Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa state that the SIR is a standard procedure under Article 326 of the Indian Constitution, designed to ensure accurate and reliable voter lists. The goal is to include all qualified citizens while eliminating ineligible, repeated, deceased, or relocated individuals.
Below is a detailed clarification of the key points raised, drawing from the ECI’s official statements and data:
1. The voter count in Uttar Pradesh stood at 15.44 crore in 2024, dropping to 13.39 crore after the SIR, with about 2.05 crore deletions. Does this indicate that over two crore unqualified individuals participated in the 2024 elections?
The ECI clarifies that this is not the case. The 2024 polls used the rolls available then. The 2025-26 SIR included thorough house-to-house checks to address longstanding issues. Primary causes for removals included:
– Individuals who had permanently moved or were absent: around 2.17 crore
– Deceased persons: about 46 lakh
– Repeated entries: roughly 25.5 lakh
These entries had persisted due to insufficient prior checks. Field officers verified using records like death certificates and relocation documents. This was a legitimate effort to refine the lists.
In the period for claims and objections, 70.69 lakh applications for additions were submitted via Form-6, with women filing more than men.
2. With the adult population (18+) growing from an estimated 15.58 crore in 2024 to 16.12 crore in 2026, why has the voter total decreased?
Population figures are approximations. The SIR relied on direct fieldwork verifications. Previous rolls contained many invalid entries such as deceased, relocated, duplicates, and unlocatable names. After verified removals, a precise count was achieved.
Additionally, 84.28 lakh new entries were incorporated, resulting in a final total of 13,39,84,792 voters. Gross deletions reached 2.89 crore, offset by the additions, including recently eligible young voters.
The ECI engaged political parties, assigned special observers for rolls, and used booth-level officers for checks. The reference date was January 1, 2026, following Section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and Article 324 of the Constitution.
3. Without major immigration from Bangladesh, what explains the high number of deletions?
Removals stemmed mainly from deaths, migrations to other areas, duplicate registrations, and non-responses during verification. No specific groups were targeted. In the SIR’s second phase across nine states and three Union Territories, reductions averaged 10 percent, varying by prior inaccuracies in each region’s lists.
4. The voter list shows a sex ratio of 834, compared to an estimated population ratio of 943. Does this suggest widespread removal of women’s names?
The draft roll had a ratio of 824, rising to 834 in the final version. Women now total 6.09 crore, making up 45.46 percent of voters. More women than men sought inclusion during the claims phase.
Deletions occurred only after notifications and confirmations. Eligible women omitted can still apply via Form-6. The ECI mandates inclusion of all qualified voters. Similar disparities appeared in earlier rolls, and the SIR has worked to address them.
5. Internal formats 1 to 8 (covering elector-population ratios, sex ratios, deletions, etc.) are not publicly released for Uttar Pradesh. Is information being concealed?
These are internal tools outlined in the ECI’s 2023 Manual on Electoral Rolls. They are not required to be disclosed publicly in every state. The full SIR procedure was executed transparently.
