Nearly 45 Lakh Names Deleted From Andhra Pradesh Draft Voter List After SIR

Amaravati, July 31: Nearly 45 lakh names have been excluded from the draft electoral rolls in Andhra Pradesh following the completion of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, the Election Commission of India said on Friday.

The draft electoral roll was published across all 175 Assembly constituencies in the state, with officials stating that the exercise was aimed at removing ineligible, duplicate and non-existent entries while providing genuine voters an opportunity to restore their names.

According to Andhra Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Vivek Yadav, the deleted names include 22.30 lakh voters who had permanently shifted or could not be traced, 15.22 lakh deceased voters and 7.37 lakh voters found to be enrolled at more than one location.

The enumeration exercise was conducted between June 15 and July 24. Out of a total of 4,16,27,694 electors, enumeration forms were collected from 3,71,38,182 voters, representing 89.22 per cent of the electorate.

Yadav said Booth Level Officers (BLOs) could not obtain forms from the remaining 44.89 lakh electors for various reasons. These included voters who had shifted to another state or Union Territory, individuals who could not be found at their registered addresses, those who did not submit forms by July 24 and persons who were unwilling to register as electors.

The CEO, however, clarified that the exclusion of a name from the draft roll does not permanently prevent a genuine voter from being enrolled. Electors whose names have been left out can file claims during the designated period and seek their inclusion in the electoral roll.

The claims and objections period will remain open from July 31 to August 30. Eligible voters can submit Form-6 along with the prescribed declaration to seek inclusion of their names. Officials will examine the claims and objections and dispose of them between July 31 and September 28.

The final electoral roll is scheduled to be published on October 3.

For greater transparency, booth-wise lists of voters whose names were not included in the draft roll have been displayed at the offices of Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs), as well as at gram panchayat and municipal offices and polling stations.

The lists contain categories such as absent, shifted, deceased and duplicate electors, along with probable reasons for the non-inclusion of their names. The information has also been made available on the websites of the Chief Electoral Officer and respective District Election Officers.

Yadav credited the successful completion of the enumeration phase to coordinated efforts involving election officials and political parties. The exercise covered 28 districts, 175 EROs, 1,079 AEROs, 4,650 BLO Supervisors and 46,397 Booth Level Officers deployed across an equal number of polling stations.

Recognised political parties also participated in the revision exercise through their Booth Level Agents (BLAs). According to the CEO, political parties had appointed 1,27,868 BLAs, significantly higher than the 68,868 BLAs present at the beginning of the SIR.

Yadav said the increase reflected greater participation by political parties and their representatives in the electoral revision process.

With the draft roll now available for public scrutiny, voters have been urged to verify their details and submit claims or objections within the prescribed deadline to ensure that eligible electors are not left out of the final electoral roll.