Mizoram, Manipur among four states where draft electoral rolls lose nearly 22 lakh voters

Nearly 22 lakh voters have been left out of the draft electoral rolls in Mizoram, Odisha, Manipur and Sikkim as Phase 3 of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls progresses.

Data released in recent days by the chief electoral officers of the four states shows that their combined electorate has fallen from 3.68 crore to 3.46 crore following the revision exercise. Odisha accounted for the largest reduction, with 20.11 lakh names missing from the draft rolls.

The omissions are not final, as those excluded from the draft lists can still seek inclusion before the final electoral rolls are published later this year.

Mizoram, Odisha, Manipur and Sikkim are among 16 states and three Union Territories where the Election Commission is conducting the SIR exercise in phases. When the third phase began on May 14, the total electorate across these states and Union Territories stood at 36.73 crore.

Ahead of launching the SIR exercise in Bihar, Election Commission officials had claimed that field-level verification had identified several individuals from Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar who were allegedly ineligible to be included in the state's electoral rolls. However, the Commission did not subsequently release figures or evidence to support those claims.

Opposition parties criticised the Commission's remarks, alleging that the SIR exercise was being used to target voters perceived as being opposed to the BJP and its allies.