Combined voters’ list in 11 states/UTs shrinks by over 3 crore post SIR

New Delhi, Feb 28 (PTI) The combined voters' list of eight states and three Union territories has shrunk by nearly 3.13 crore following the completion of the SIR exercise on Saturday.

Now, except Uttar Pradesh, the final electoral rolls of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Goa has been published.

According to data shared by chief electoral officers of these states and the Election Commission over the past few days, the combined electoral rolls of these states and UTs stood at around 36 crore when the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was announced on October 27 last year.

Post the publication of final rolls, the number of voters went down to 32.87 crore – a difference of nearly 3.13 crore.

While the exercise, which kept the EC in the news, was completed in Bihar last year, its second phase was carried out in 12 states and Union territories with nearly 51 crore electors.

The remaining 40 crore electors will be covered in 17 states and five UTs, where the exercise will commence soon.

In Assam, a 'special revision', instead of SIR, was completed on February 10.

Due to a variety of reasons, the SIR in the eight states and three UTs in the second phase saw frequent tweaking in schedules.

Like Bihar, political parties have approached the Supreme Court challenging the SIR exercise in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. PTI NAB ARI ARI