Thane Sees 28.5 Lakh Voters Excluded in Maharashtra Draft Electoral Roll
Around 28.5 lakh voters in Thane have been excluded from the draft voter list published on Monday under Maharashtra's special intensive revision. Statewide, the draft roll recorded a decline of two crore voters compared to the previous list, largely driven by uncollected enumeration forms in major urban centres.
The electoral roll used until June had 9.8 crore voters across Maharashtra, whereas the draft revision list stands at 7.7 crore voters, reflecting a 21.1 percent reduction. In real terms, the net drop across the state is 1.9 crore voters, as 17 lakh duplicate entries were removed from one constituency while being retained in another. State Chief Electoral Officer S Chockalingam clarified that those 17 lakh duplicate entries cannot be considered excluded voters.
Election officials stated that voter names were removed because enumeration forms could not be collected after individuals were reported as absent, shifted to another residence, deceased, or duplicate entries. Urban areas accounted for the highest number of exclusions due to internal migration and shifting residences. Besides Thane's 28.5 lakh exclusions, Mumbai recorded a drop of 36 lakh voters, Pune saw 28.6 lakh exclusions, and Nagpur recorded 14.4 lakh exclusions.
Around 1.5 crore of the two crore voters whose names were excluded across Maharashtra will have an opportunity to apply for inclusion during the claims and objections window, which remains open until September 30. First-time voters who turned 18 years old before October 1 are also eligible to apply during this one-month period.
Residents can verify their names on the draft roll through the Election Commission of India portal, the website of the Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officer, or district election websites. Draft rolls have also been shared with recognised political parties at the district level.
Citizens who were excluded—whether they submitted an enumeration form earlier or missed doing so—can submit Form 6 to be enrolled. Form 7 is available for requesting deletions, and Form 8 can be used for corrections in name, address, or gender. Applications can be submitted online, through electoral registration officers at assembly constituencies, or via booth level officers and block level agents.
Of the 7.7 crore voters currently on the state's draft list, 3.9 crore are male and 3.7 crore are female.
