Election Commission to Release Draft Voter List in Madhya Pradesh

After conducting a door-to-door Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Madhya Pradesh for over a month and a half, the Election Commission of India (ECI) is set to unveil the draft electoral roll of voters for the state on Tuesday, as per election officials. Preliminary assessments indicate that around 41.8 lakh voters, approximately 7.2% of the electorate, may have their names removed from the SIR. Among the flagged names, it is reported that 8.4 lakh voters were deceased, 8.4 lakh were marked as absent, 22.5 lakh had relocated, and 2.5 lakh were registered at multiple addresses. In Bhopal, out of 21.25 lakh registered voters, about 4.3 lakh names, constituting 20.23%, are expected to be excluded from the draft electoral rolls. Similarly, in Indore, with 28.67 lakh voters, 4.4 lakh names have been flagged for removal; Gwalior might lose 2.5 lakh names from its 16.49 lakh electorate; and Jabalpur could see 2.4 lakh names removed from its 19.25 lakh voters. However, these figures are preliminary, and the exact number of deletions will only be confirmed once the final electoral draft is released by the ECI on Tuesday, an official mentioned. The ECI has extended the deadline for the SIR of electoral rolls in five states and the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands until December 11. Over 65,000 Booth Level Officers (BLOs) were assigned to verify voters through door-to-door visits starting from November 4, with over 6.65 crore voters registered in 2023 in Madhya Pradesh. The state, with 230 Assembly seats and 29 Lok Sabha constituencies across 55 districts, is divided into 10 divisions, including Bhopal, Gwalior, Indore, Jabalpur, Chambal, Narmadapuram, Rewa, Sagar, Shahdol, and Ujjain. More than 65,000 booth-level officers visited households in cities, towns, and villages for voter details verification since the SIR exercise commenced on November 4. Notably, throughout the SIR exercise, the main opposition Congress party in Madhya Pradesh opposed the ECI’s actions, criticizing it and making political accusations. On Monday, a group of state Congress workers visited the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) in Bhopal, alleging irregularities in the SIR exercise.