Civil rights analysis reveals voter list discrepancy in Rajasthan local polls

JAIPUR — A significant discrepancy has emerged between voter lists maintained for local body polls in Rajasthan and the Election Commission’s final electoral rolls, with civil rights activists pointing to a gap of nearly 30 lakh voters.

According to a comparative analysis conducted by civil rights activist and Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan founder Nikhil Dey, roughly 26.63 lakh voters whose names were removed during a recent state-wide revision exercise remain listed in the Rajasthan State Election Commission’s (SEC) 2026 electoral rolls for urban local body and panchayat elections. Overall, nearly 30 lakh voters listed in the rolls used for local elections are absent from the Election Commission’s final database.

The divergence stems from administrative timelines surrounding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, which concluded with the publication of Rajasthan’s final SIR electoral roll in February 2026. That revision saw the state’s total electorate decline from 5.47 crore to 5.15 crore, driven by the deletion of 44.28 lakh names and the addition of 12.91 lakh new voters across 199 Assembly constituencies.

In contrast, SEC electoral rolls covering the same constituencies continued to carry approximately 5.45 crore names.

Defending the use of the older database, SEC secretary Rajesh Verma stated that the commission adopted the Election Commission’s pre-SIR electoral roll—last updated on January 1, 2025—as the baseline for local election preparations. Verma explained that planning and foundational work for the local polls had commenced well before the broader revision exercise reached completion.

Chief electoral officer Naveen Mahajan confirmed that the SEC utilized the pre-SIR list for its preparations. Mahajan added that no official objections had been lodged in Rajasthan against the final SIR electoral roll.

Despite the administrative rationale provided by election officials, Dey questioned the decision to proceed with outdated rolls when a revised database was available.