Election Commission releases draft voter rolls showing expansion across nine states and territories

NEW DELHI — Voter rolls across nine states and Union Territories expanded by up to 3% in the initial draft electoral updates published following a special intensive revision, according to data released by the Election Commission.

The nationwide voter list updates mark the first major revision cycle since administrative changes paused standard annual summary reviews following the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Unlike standard summary revisions that process incremental additions and deletions, the intensive exercise prepares electoral databases afresh.

According to data cited from reports, Goa registered the highest growth at 3%, with the addition of approximately 43,000 voters alongside at least 11,000 deletions. Rajasthan followed with a 2.2% increase, bringing its draft electoral roll to roughly 5.2 crore voters.

Other regions reported modest gains: Lakshadweep recorded a 0.1% increase, Puducherry 1.3%, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh 1.5% each, Manipur 1.7%, and Bihar and Tamil Nadu 1.8% each.

Specific regional figures indicate mixed net outcomes relative to pre-revision totals. In Kerala, the draft roll added approximately 4 lakh voters to reach 2.73 crore, remaining below its pre-revision count of 2.78 crore. Tamil Nadu saw an increase of roughly 10 lakh electors to reach 5.7 crore, compared to its earlier total of 6.4 crore. Bihar added 13 lakh voters to reach 7.5 crore, Manipur added about 33,700 to reach 19.9 lakh, and Assam recorded a net addition of 2.1 lakh electors to total approximately 2.5 crore.

The special summary revision cycle covered 17 states and Union Territories in this phase, while comparable publication data for eight other jurisdictions remained unavailable or was postponed. Notably, the publication of draft rolls for Uttar Pradesh was rescheduled to November 17.

Legal challenges preceded the rollout. In May, the Supreme Court upheld the legality of the intensive revision process, clarifying that the exercise does not empower the Election Commission to determine individual Indian citizenship. Internal panel deliberations also reflected friction over the schedule; official records note that election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi formally objected 14 times over 10 months to poll panel decisions regarding the special intensive revision, contending that certain measures were adopted without their prior knowledge.