Election Commission orders verification of deleted voters in Andhra Pradesh electoral rolls

VIJAYAWADA — The Election Commission of India (ECI) has ordered a fresh field-level exercise to trace and verify approximately 45 lakh voters whose names were removed from Andhra Pradesh’s electoral rolls during a recent Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

Under the newly instituted directives, eligible voters identified during the verification process will be restored to the electoral rolls without needing to submit fresh Form 6 applications. Booth-level officers (BLOs) have been tasked with tracking down the deleted electors and verifying their residency status anywhere across the state.

The administrative undertaking follows a sharp contraction in the state’s voter base. During the SIR enumeration exercise, Andhra Pradesh’s electorate shrank by nearly 11 percent, with 44,89,512 names dropped from the rolls.

Prior to the revision, the state’s total electorate stood at 4,16,27,694. That figure fell to 3,71,38,182 in the subsequent draft rolls. An additional 1,73,701 electors were later determined to be ineligible following required notice and hearing procedures.

A detailed breakdown of the 44.89 lakh deleted entries shows that roughly 22.30 lakh names fell into the absent, shifted, and untraceable category. Another 15.22 lakh entries were identified as deceased individuals, while 7.37 lakh registrations were classified as duplicate entries.

Addressing the ongoing administrative review, Andhra Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Vivek Yadav stated, “We can know the exact numbers only after completion of the new process.”

Alongside the tracking of deleted entries, routine voter registration has continued. Official records show that 3,71,182 new voters have been successfully enrolled through standard Form 6 applications since the publication of the draft rolls.

The ECI has taken up the Special Summary Revision (SSR) as part of regular electoral maintenance, permitting citizens to seek inclusions, deletions, or modifications to their electoral details. Booth-level officers will continue their field-level verification ahead of the scheduled publication of the final electoral rolls on November 30.