Harun Nasrullah
India’s Election Commission has classified 133.9 million electoral entries for removal during a nationwide revision, prompting opposition parties to warn that eligible voters, including Muslims, risk being wrongly excluded.
The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) covers draft electoral rolls in 30 states and Union Territories, according to The Indian Express. The commission says the entries concern people who have died, moved permanently, are registered more than once or could not be traced.
The figure refers to entries classified as “Absent, Shifted Permanently, Dead and Duplicate” (ASDD), not a confirmed count of eligible voters disenfranchised. The reported breakdown comprises about 63 million people who moved permanently, 30 million who could not be traced, 28 million deceased people and 10 million duplicate entries. The figures are rounded.
The BJP has rejected opposition claims that 133.9 million voters were deleted. Party spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said the revision aimed to remove ineligible entries, not legitimate voters. On October 5, the commission announced an enrolment drive in 20 states and Union Territories for eligible voters missing from the revised rolls.
Opposition leaders marched towards the Supreme Court in New Delhi on October 12, demanding a halt to the revision and an audit of deletions. Protests have also called for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to resign.
In Jharkhand, The Indian Express reported that a BJP booth-level agent submitted Form 7 applications seeking to remove multiple voters from the rolls in Maheshtikri village, Godda district. Many of those named were Muslim.
At least four booth-level officers told the newspaper that BJP workers had submitted multiple deletion forms. Some were reportedly incomplete or improperly filled out, and many were rejected after officials raised concerns. In one incident, an agent allegedly burned 75 forms after a booth-level officer questioned the submissions.
Similar allegations emerged in Karnataka. The Indian Express reported on October 2 that a former Congress candidate said 279 applications seeking to remove voters had been filed across 16 polling stations in Belthangady constituency. Voters reportedly learned of objections against their names after election officials requested additional documents.
In Kodagu district, The Hindu reported that at least 50 applications were filed against Muslim voters at one polling station on September 23. Objectors alleged that the forms had been pre-filled and came from a party office.
Three first information reports (FIRs) were registered in Karnataka over alleged bulk Form 7 submissions, The New Indian Express reported on October 8. Two followed complaints in Mangaluru, while the third concerned alleged false information on forms submitted in Madikeri. Police investigations were under way.
Form 7 allows objections to a person’s inclusion on an electoral roll or requests to delete an entry. Following concerns about bulk submissions, the commission limited individuals to 10 forms during the claims-and-objections period and five a month during routine updates. Officials were instructed to verify objections and hear each case before removing a name.
The revision has also prompted scrutiny of the commission’s internal decision-making. An investigation published by The Indian Express on September 25 reported that election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally objected at least 14 times over 10 months to decisions and orders connected to the SIR. Their concerns reportedly included changes to voter registration Form 6, the handling of deletion and restoration cases, and centralised access to the electoral database. The commission said its decisions, including the SIR, had been unanimous.
In July, Form 6 was amended to ask new applicants whether they, their parents or grandparents appeared on an electoral roll from an earlier intensive revision. The change drew criticism over concerns that applicants unable to establish family electoral records could face additional hurdles. On October 12, the Supreme Court clarified that it had neither approved nor rejected the modified form.
In West Bengal, The Telegraph reported that two Muslim government employees in Murshidabad were removed from the rolls over discrepancies involving their fathers’ ages and the spelling or readability of names. Their entries were restored after the 2026 Assembly election, preventing them from voting in that poll.
Reports on the state showed that about 2.7 million people were excluded after adjudication, while more than 2.2 million appeals were filed. Just under 114,000 people were reported to have had their names restored through appeal tribunals.
On October 9, the Supreme Court indicated that appeals seeking inclusion on West Bengal’s electoral roll should be prioritised ahead of forthcoming municipal elections. A further hearing was scheduled for November.
The commission has directed states and Union Territories where the SIR has been completed to conduct enrolment drives for people missing from the rolls. According to The Indian Express, the drives will use the standard Form 6, without the additional question introduced in July.
