The first phase of the special intensive revision (SIR) in Delhi deleted nearly 4.8 million names from the Capital’s electoral roll, or roughly a third of the 14.5 million electorate as on June 20.
Residents across Delhi report similar experience
“When SIR started, everybody in my family received an SIR form except me. To be sure, additions and deletions to the electoral roll are a continuous process. HT verified her voter ID , which lists Mubarakpur Dabas as her address. “Even though it’s a high number, it’s possible that these names were removed during routine revisions in that one year. Some BLOs, however, insisted they were explicitly barred from deleting names during the pre-SIR mapping window. These electors would not have to submit fresh documents, as their inclusion established continuity. “We receive applications for addition and deletion of names throughout the year. Even if we receive an application now, we will have to process it. In pre- SIR mapping , we are not supposed to delete any names. Jai Prakash, a BLO from Adarsh Nagar, echoed this. But routine revision was still being done.
But even before the controversial process began on June 30, Election Commission data shows that nearly 1.1 million names were dropped between January 2025 – when it was frozen before the February 2025 assembly elections – and June 2026, when it was frozen before SIR. This represents around 7.07% of the city’s electorate in 2025 and 11.32% now. HT spoke to at least 15 people across the Capital who were not aware that their names were dropped during this 16-month period. We went to the BLO multiple times, but he said my name is not there and I should register afresh later using Form 6,” said domestic worker Puja Devi, who voted in the 2020 assembly elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, and lives in Mubarakpur Dabas in northwest Delhi. If rolls are not frozen, additions can be done by using Form 6 and deletions by Form 7. But the number of those deleted between January 2025 and June 2026 is unusual when compared with previous exercises in Delhi. ECI data shows that the city’s electorate increased by 0.4 million between the 2020 state assembly elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and then again by 0.4 million people between the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the 2025 state assembly elections, meaning additions were made more than deletions in the rolls. Of the 1.1 million deletions, nearly 0.3 million were made between May 2026-June 2026 during the pre-SIR mapping phase. Delhi’s rolls listed 15,614,000 electors in January 2025. By June 2026, this number had fallen to 14,510,299. It now stands at 9,753,577. Puja Devi, who works as domestic help in Nawada near Dwarka in South West Delhi, moved to Delhi 10 years ago after marrying Durgesh Kumar. In Adarsh Nagar, Baljinder Kumar said he has lived in the same house since 2010. HT spoke to 15 residents across Okhla , Timarpur, Tughlaqabad, Narela , Rohini and Jangpura who described the same experience. Officials at the Delhi Chief Electoral Officer ’s (CEO) office attribute the 1.1 million deletions to routine quarterly roll revisions and errors by BLOs. “These people can get back on the rolls by registering as a voter using Form 6. During this period, they were only supposed to go door-to-door to identify electors whose names appeared in the 2002 rolls. For those born after July 1, 1987, parents’ names in earlier rolls could help establish eligibility under the Citizenship Act, 1955, which reduces the need for additional documentation. If a person is not found at the specified address, or if their names cannot be mapped to the 2002 list, we have to submit a report to our supervisors,” Singh said. Adarsh Nagar saw the highest percentage deletion during this 16-month period – roughly a quarter of its 177,398 electors in January 2025. It was followed by Delhi Cantt and Uttam Nagar , where the electorate shrunk by 19.03% and 18.78%, respectively. In absolute numbers, outer Delhi’s Bawana recorded the single-largest fall, losing 69,112 electors from 384,849 in January 2025 to 315,737 in June 2026, an 18% drop. In Uttam Nagar, the number fell by 59,484 voters (18.8%), and in Nangloi Jat, 50,356 (18.7%).
As a result, their partially filled forms for SIR were never generated, never reached their booth-level officers , and they never got a chance to enroll themselves. Because their names were already deleted before the exercise started, they did not receive an SIR enumeration form.
BLOs might have also removed names during the pre-SIR mapping in May and June,” a senior official said. Jitendra Singh, a BLO from Narela, said additions and deletions were ordinarily processed through the year, but the pre-SIR phase was different. “We were told not to delete any names during the pre-SIR mapping. Some BLOs might have deleted names but that number should not be very high,” he said.
The BLO is now saying that I should register as a new voter under Form 6. “I have been a voter in this area for over two decades. I was surprised that my name didn’t even appear in the deleted voters’ list.
But that means I am accepting that I have never voted before,” Kumar said.
