Maharashtra SIR Draft Voter Roll Deadline Extended to August 31

The Election Commission of India has granted an eight-day extension for the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Maharashtra, moving the date for publishing the draft roll from August 24 to August 31.

This marks the third extension granted by the commission for the exercise in the state. Following the revision of the draft schedule, the date for publishing the final electoral roll has also been pushed back, shifting from October 27 to November 4.

While the home-to-home survey conducted to collect enumeration forms has concluded, the additional time was granted to facilitate the rationalisation and re-arrangement of polling stations based on changes in the voter population.

According to officials, around 2 crore voters were found to have uncollectable forms and will be excluded from the draft electoral roll. This exclusion represents a 21.1 percent drop in the state's voter count since June, bringing the total number down from 9.8 crore to 7.7 crore.

The uncollected enumeration forms predominantly belong to electors falling under the Absent, Shifted, Duplicate, and Dead categories. Electors whose forms were not collected will have an opportunity to re-apply for inclusion in the voter list during a one-month window following the publication of the draft roll. However, authorities do not anticipate a significant increase in the final count from these re-applications.

Consequently, the rationalisation of polling stations across Maharashtra will proceed based on the updated figure of 7.7 crore voters.

As part of the re-arrangement process, officials plan to seek approval from the Election Commission of India to split polling booths that have an electorate exceeding 1,300 voters. In addition, polling booths with a voter population of 300 or fewer will be merged with nearby booths, provided an alternative booth exists within the same area.