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Madhya Pradesh Voter Purge: 4.1 Million Names Flagged in Election Roll Cleanup

The Election Commission of India is set to publish the draft electoral roll for Madhya Pradesh tomorrow. Preliminary assessments suggest a massive cleanup, with nearly 41.8 lakh voter names flagged for potential deletion. The Special Intensive Revision exercise involved over 65,000 booth-level officers verifying details door-to-door. The Congress party has criticized the process, alleging irregularities in the voter list revision.

Key Points: ECI to Publish Madhya Pradesh Draft Electoral Roll After SIR

  • Preliminary data flags 41.8 lakh voters for deletion from Madhya Pradesh rolls
  • 8.4 lakh flagged voters are deceased, another 8.4 lakh are absent
  • 22.5 lakh voters have shifted locations, 2.5 lakh have multiple registrations
  • Over 65,000 BLOs conducted door-to-door verification since November 4
2 min read

SIR in Madhya Pradesh: Draft electoral roll to be published by ECI tomorrow

Election Commission to release draft voter list for Madhya Pradesh after SIR exercise, with preliminary data flagging over 41 lakh names for deletion.

"preliminary assessment suggesting that the names of nearly 41.8 lakh voters... are likely to be deleted from the SIR. - Chief Electoral Office sources"

Bhopal, Dec 22

After more than one-and-a-half month of door-to-door Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Madhya Pradesh, the Election Commission of India (ECI) will release the draft electoral roll of voters for the state on Tuesday, election officials said on Monday.

The official sources in the Chief Electoral Office (CEO) here in Madhya Pradesh told IANS that, preliminary assessment suggesting that the names of nearly 41.8 lakh voters, that is, about 7.2 per cent of the electorate, are likely to be deleted from the SIR.

According to official sources, preliminary data show that, of the 41.8 lakh names flagged, 8.4 lakh voters were found dead, another 8.4 lakh were marked absent, 22.5 lakh had shifted to other locations and 2.5 lakh were registered at multiple addresses.

In Bhopal, where there are 21.25 lakh registered voters, about 4.3 lakh names -- 20.23 per cent are likely to be dropped in the draft electoral rolls.

While in Indore, with 28.67 lakh voters, saw 4.4 lakh names flagged; Gwalior may lose 2.5 lakh names of its 16.49 lakh electorate; and Jabalpur could lose 2.4 lakh names from 19.25 lakh.

However, all these numbers are a just assessment, and the exact number of voters deleted would be known only after the final electoral draft is published by the ECI on Tuesday, an official added.

The ECI has extended the schedule of the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls in five states: Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh and the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, against December 11.

More than 65,000 BLOs (Booth Level Officers) were tasked with conducting a door-to-door visit for verification of voters from November 4, while more than 6.65 crore voters were enrolled in 2023 in Madhya Pradesh.

Madhya Pradesh has a total of 230 Assembly seats and 29 Lok Sabha constituencies spread across the 55 districts, divided into 10 divisions such as Bhopal, Gwalior, Indore, Jabalpur, Chambal, Narmadapuram, Rewa, Sagar, Shahdol, and Ujjain.

More than 65,000 booth-level officers (BLOs) visited households across cities, towns and villages to verify voter details since November 4, the SIR excercise had begun in the state.

Notably, during the entire SIR excercise, the principal opposition Congress in Madhya Pradesh kept opposing the ECI's steps and criticised it levelling political allegations.

On Monday, a delegation of state Congress workers visited the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) in Bhopal, alleging irregularities in the SIR exercise.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

P
Priya S
While cleaning the list is good, I hope genuine voters aren't removed by mistake. My uncle shifted cities last year and is worried his name might be deleted. The process needs to be transparent.
V
Vikram M
Bhopal losing 20% of names? That's huge! Shows massive migration or maybe earlier lax verification. The Congress raising concerns is their job as opposition, but let's wait for the final draft.
A
Ananya R
Respectfully, the timing and scale of deletions before major elections always raises eyebrows. Hope the ECI ensures this is purely administrative and addresses all complaints fairly. Democracy depends on trust.
D
David E
Interesting process. In my country, voter registration is mostly individual responsibility. This door-to-door verification by 65,000 officers is a massive undertaking. Shows India's commitment to inclusive electoral lists.
S
Suresh O
The numbers of dead and duplicate voters are shocking. This cleanup is long overdue. Every citizen should check the draft roll online tomorrow and file claims if needed. Jai Hind!

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