Gujarat's Voter Roll Race: How 5-Crore Forms Signal Election Readiness

Under the guidance of the Election Commission of India and the leadership of Chief Electoral Officer Hareet Shukla, the CEO office, in coordination with district election officers across the state, has accelerated efforts to complete the massive exercise on time.

More than 5 crore registered voters in the 2025 draft roll have already received their enumeration forms, with most of the state's 33 districts achieving 100 per cent distribution.

In the remaining districts, officials say the target will be met shortly.

The forms returned by voters are now being rapidly digitised -- a task that has seen impressive progress on the ground.

Notably, two Assembly constituencies -- Dhanera in Banaskantha and Limkheda in Dahod -- have already completed digitisation of all received forms, marking a rare 100 per cent completion rate.

Among districts, Dang has emerged as the front-runner, achieving 93.14 per cent digitisation, followed by Gir Somnath (88.91 per cent), Banaskantha (88.42 per cent), Sabarkantha (88.32 per cent), and Morbi (88 per cent).

Other top-performing districts include Mahisagar, Chhota Udepur, Panchmahal, Patan and Surendranagar -- all above 86 per cent.

The enumeration process has also revealed significant updates within the voter database.

Across the state, 15.58 lakh deceased individuals were still listed in the rolls, over 4 lakh voters were found absent at their registered addresses, and 21.86 lakh people were identified as having permanently migrated.

Additionally, more than 2.68 lakh duplicate entries were detected. These findings highlight the importance of the ongoing exercise in ensuring the accuracy and integrity of the voter list ahead of major electoral cycles.

The CEO office has praised the efforts of Gujarat's BLOs, whose fieldwork has played a key role in driving the revision process efficiently.

Officials have also advised BLOs to reach out to their respective local election offices in case of any operational difficulties as the state works toward completing one of its most extensive voter roll clean-up drives to date.

janvi/pgh

- IANS