Archive · 3 Oct 2026
Election Commission Orders Drive for Voters Left Out After SIR
The Election Commission has asked officials in 20 states and Union Territories to look for eligible people who may have been left off voter lists.
Officials will compare lists from before and after a voter-list revision.
They may visit people’s homes and help eligible people apply to register using Form 6.
Young people voting for the first time can also use the form.
Officials may ask political parties to help find people who were missed.
The drive follows concerns about the large number of names removed during the revision, though the reports say that number does not mean everyone removed was wrongly excluded.
Some Election Commissioners had objected to changes to the form and the way the voter-list software was controlled.
In Maharashtra, officials were told to give voters a chance to provide documents before removing names.
The Commission’s action comes amid protests and demands for accountability.
The Election Commission ordered a special enrolment drive in 20 states and Union Territories where the Special Intensive Revision is complete.
Officials are to compare pre- and post-revision voter rolls, identify potentially eligible people who were removed, visit homes and help them apply through statutory Form 6.
The drive also covers young and first-time eligible voters, and officials may seek assistance from political parties and booth-level agents.
Reports cited about 13 crore deletions from draft rolls across 30 states and Union Territories; a separate account cited 13.8 crore removals across 31.
The directive comes amid scrutiny of the revision and objections over Form 6 and centralised electoral-roll software; Maharashtra also ordered safeguards against hasty removals.
- Who
- The Election Commission of India, state election officials, eligible voters who may have been left out, and young or first-time electors.
- What
- A special drive to identify and enrol eligible voters omitted from revised rolls, using statutory Form 6.
- When
- The instruction was issued in a letter dated September 29 and reiterated at a Thursday video conference; Maharashtra camps are scheduled for October 3, 4, 10 and 11.
- Where
- The drive covers 20 states and Union Territories where the Special Intensive Revision is complete; related cases and measures were reported in Goa and Maharashtra.
- Why
- To help eligible voters who may have been left out during the revision, amid scrutiny of deletions and the Election Commission’s handling of the process.
Commission’s enrolment drive and safeguards
Critics’ objections and concerns
Using Form 6 for people removed from rolls
Commission’s enrolment drive and safeguards
The Commission has directed officials to help eligible people who may have been left out enrol through Form 6.
Critics’ objections and concerns
Former Chief Election Commissioner S. Y. Quraishi said Form 6 is for new voters, not deleted voters, and described requiring deleted voters to use it as a criminal offence.
Form declaration and rule changes
Commission’s enrolment drive and safeguards
The Commission’s September 29 letter says the added declaration applies during the SIR phase only; outside that phase, the statutory forms under the 1960 rules are to be used.
Critics’ objections and concerns
Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi objected that changing Form 6 required a rules amendment, which they said only the Union government could make.
Electoral-roll software and oversight
Commission’s enrolment drive and safeguards
The Commission said ECINet would be reviewed by a committee including an independent IIT or IIIT expert, and that needed flexibility for field officials would be made operational.
Critics’ objections and concerns
Sandhu and Joshi raised concerns about centralised control of the electoral-roll database and sought an audit; reporting described Goa voters whose deletions could not be reversed in ECINet.
- Drive coverage
- 20 states and Union Territories where the Special Intensive Revision is complete
- Application form
- Plain statutory Form 6, without the declaration added during the SIR phase
- Roll comparison
- Officials are to compare pre-SIR and post-SIR rolls and investigate potentially eligible people who are missing
- Deletion figures reported
- One report cited about 13 crore names from draft rolls in 30 states and Union Territories; another cited 13.8 crore removals across 31
- Goa case
- 97 voters found eligible were left off the final roll after officials could not reverse their deletions through ECINet
- Maharashtra verification
- The draft roll flagged 1.22 crore records, including 62.48 lakh over relatives’ details and 59.75 lakh unmapped to a relative in the previous roll
- Maharashtra camps
- Scheduled for October 3, 4, 10 and 11
Sources
‘Left out’ voters: Election Commission orders special drive in 20 states where SIR over
SIR: EC asks BLOs to revisit voter list, add through Form 6 those eligible but deleted
Election Commission orders special drive in 20 states where SIR is done, plain statutory Form 6 to be used: Report