One year of Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision: Over 5.8 crore names deleted from electoral rolls
The drive to clear voter rolls, which completed one year on Thursday, was first launched in Bihar on a pilot basis last year ahead of the assembly elections in the state.
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The removal of nearly 65 lakh names from the voter rolls following the Bihar exercise led to harsh criticism from opposition parties and civil society groups, who alleged that the revision was aimed at disenfranchising voters by imposing stringent documentary requirements. The Electoral Commission has consistently rejected the allegations, arguing that this practice is aimed at eliminating duplicate, deceased or otherwise ineligible voters and ensuring that all eligible citizens remain on the voter rolls.
In March this year, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the constitutional validity of the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision decision.
The second phase of the exercise, which was announced on October 27 last year, covered Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep.
Before the revision, the total electorate of these states and Union territories was over 50.99 crore. Following implementation, the electoral rolls were reduced to 45.81 crore voters, reflecting a decrease of 5.18 crore names or 10.2%. According to Election Commission data, 66.88 lakh deceased voters were removed from the lists during the exercise. Uttar Pradesh accounted for the highest write-off at 25.47 lakh, followed by poll-bound West Bengal at 24.16 lakh. After the objections were examined and decided during the revision process, another 63.16 lakh names were deleted.
The final electoral rolls for 12 states and Union territories were published on different dates; Uttar Pradesh was the last to publish the revised registers.
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The third phase of Special Intensive Revision started on May 14 and is currently ongoing in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Sikkim, Tripura, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Chandigarh and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman. Diu. The exercise covers around 36.73 crore voters and is scheduled to be completed later this year.
The exercise of revision has also taken on wider political and administrative significance. In both Bihar and West Bengal, state governments have announced that electoral roll purification data will be linked to social security schemes, with the result that people whose names have been deleted during the exercise will be exempt from certain social benefits.
Meanwhile, Special Intensive Revision has also featured in the latest NCERT Social Sciences textbook and it is described as a practice aimed at ensuring that no eligible citizen is left out while preventing ineligible people from remaining in the electoral rolls.
The revision of voter rolls remains one of the Electoral Commission’s most contentious initiatives in recent years, with opposition parties continuing to question its implementation even as the poll body continues its nationwide rollout.
(With inputs from PTI)
