Over 1.8 Million Electors in Thane Face Deletion From Draft Electoral Rolls

More than 1.8 million electors in Thane could be deleted from draft electoral rolls scheduled for publication later this month, as booth-level officers struggle to trace voters at their registered addresses during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision drive. Election Commission officials estimate that at least 30 percent of existing electors in Thane and neighbouring Mumbai may be dropped after being placed under the absent, shifted, dead, and duplicate category.

In Thane, over 1.8 million of the area's 7.45 million registered electors face potential removal from the rolls. Enumeration progress in Thane has reached 57.07 percent, significantly lower than the Maharashtra state average of 77.53 percent. Together, Thane and Mumbai recorded uncollectible enumeration forms for up to 36 percent of electors—the highest in the state, where the overall proportion of untraceable electors stands at 15 percent.

According to an Election Commission official, Thane's high number of untraceable voters is largely due to its high floating population. Booth-level officers have reported difficulties contacting residents who travel daily to Mumbai for work and return home late. Untraceable electors across the region are predominantly concentrated in slums, chawls undergoing redevelopment, and defence and railway colonies where resident shifting is common.

To address the untraceable voters, election authorities have directed booth-level officers to conduct panchnamas so that missing electors can be officially declared untraceable at their recorded addresses. The enumeration phase of the revision drive is expected to wrap up by August 17, following an extended deadline, before draft electoral rolls are published on August 24.

The deletion drive has drawn criticism from political parties, who allege that officers are preparing panchnamas in haste without making adequate efforts to locate missing electors. Sandesh Kondvilkar, Mumbai Congress leader and party in-charge for the revision drive, raised concerns over officers failing to reach residents in slum areas. Responding to the criticisms, Manohar Parkar, Joint Chief Electoral Officer for Maharashtra, stated that officers have been instructed to coordinate with booth-level agents appointed by political parties to trace voters and ensure no eligible elector is left out.