10 million voters expected to be deleted after Maharashtra SIR

Amin Patel, Congress MLA from Mumbadevi, notes that deletions are likely to be high due to migration but urges voters to ensure deletions are carried out properly and to be vigilant, especially for residents of slums and chawls during the time-bound SIR.

Authorities point to intra-city and inter-city migration, with a tradition of registering at both native place and place of work in Konkan and western Maharashtra, leading to duplicate registrations.

The SIR is expected to bring many left-out eligible voters into the electoral rolls due to the absence of SSR last year.

Officials indicate that if about 70% of the population is adult, the number of registered voters should not exceed roughly 91 million, whereas the projected population is about 129 million, indicating discrepancies in the rolls.

The absence of the annual Special Summary Revision (SSR) last year—due to local body polls—meant the deletion of shifted and deceased voters was not carried out, inflating the rolls.

Officials note that deceased voters remain on rolls because relatives do not remove them, contributing to inflated electoral lists.

Duplicate registrations are high due to urbanisation, redevelopment and migration. In Mumbai alone, duplicate voters were estimated at around 11% inside city limits, which could rise when state-wide mapping is completed.

Officials estimate deletions could be between 8% and 12% of Maharashtra’s voters, potentially around 9 to 10 million names from the state’s about 98.86 million registered voters.

The Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision is scheduled to begin on June 30, 2026.

Major urban regions show lag in mapping: Mumbai Suburban about 47% mapped and Mumbai city about 55%, attributed to large-scale migration and shifting of voters within the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Similar migration trends observed in Pune, Nagpur and Nashik.

Mumbai currently has 10.4 million registered voters, Pune 9.14 million, and Thane 7.5 million voters.

Ahead of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), the Chief Electoral Officer's office is conducting a pre-SIR mapping exercise to align current voters with rolls as of 2002. Officials say around 70% of the current voters have been mapped.