Election authorities verify over 94 per cent of voter notices ahead of Delhi electoral roll publication

NEW DELHI — Election authorities have verified more than 94 per cent of voter notices issued during Delhi’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR), with remaining cases scheduled for clearance ahead of the final electoral roll publication.

According to the Election Commission, 31.2 lakh cases accounting for approximately 94 per cent of the total notices issued were disposed of by October 26, clearing those entries for inclusion in the upcoming electoral roll. The administration has set a deadline of November 30 to dispose of all remaining pending cases, leading up to the publication of the final electoral roll on December 4.

The rigorous verification drive stems from Delhi’s Special Intensive Revision process, which began on June 30 when the capital recorded 1.45 crore registered voters. By the time a draft electoral roll was released on August 31, authorities had removed 47.6 lakh names categorized as absent, shifted, deceased, or duplicate voters, bringing the registered voter count down to 97.5 lakh. Out of the voters whose names were removed, only 2.7 lakh individuals submitted Form 6 applications seeking re-inclusion.

Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Ashok Kumar stated that notices were subsequently issued to 33.1 lakh people whose names appeared in the draft roll due to database discrepancies. Officials noted that 13.8 lakh of these entries could not be mapped to the 2002 SIR base, while 19.3 lakh involved other logical discrepancies. Authorities have successfully resolved about 19 lakh cases, or 98 per cent, within the logical discrepancy category alone.

The extensive verification process reached numerous prominent political figures and VIPs across the capital. Notices were dispatched to high-profile individuals including Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader LK Advani.

The administration is currently processing the remaining unresolved notices to meet the November 30 clearance deadline, paving the way for the December 4 publication of the final electoral roll.