Maharashtra SIR: 30% electorate likely to be disenfranchised, says Congress

A delegation of the MaharashtraCongress on Tuesday (September 22, 2026) met the State’s Chief Electoral Officer, S. Chockalingam, and expressed apprehension that 30% of the State’s electorate is likely to be disenfranchised. The leaders raised concerns and anomalies about the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) campaign for the electoral rolls, seeking a two-month extension for submitting claims and objections.

In a six-page memorandum submitted to Mr Chockalingam, the national party highlighted widespread discrepancies in voter data, including numerous ‘unmapped’ and ‘anomalous’ entries, and the alleged unjustified removal of over two crore voters. Adding that the current festive season had led to the non-availability of the voters and the BLOs, the party said that the election body should consider extending the deadline.

The delegation expressed concern about the lack of transparency and adherence to due process, citing insufficient notice periods for voters and the challenging process for citizens to verify their electoral status.

‘Serious questions’

Of the 9,78,54,049 voters in the State before the exercise, 2,06,88,487 names, or 21.14%, had been dropped, the party said. Moreover, notices are going to be issued to 1,22,24,007 voters as ‘unmapped’ or ‘anomalous’, since their records have not matched with the 2002 electoral rolls. The Congress termed the deletion of more than 2.06 crore names between the 2024 assembly elections and August 31, 2026, as ‘unprecedented and alarming’.

“According to 2011 Census, the population of the state was 11.23 Crore. Of them, 93 lakh were children in the age group of 0 to 4 years. If they are excluded, the adult population of the state today is 10 Crore. In that comparison, the final voter list is likely to have a reduction of 20% to 25%, which is substantial. It raises serious questions about the SIR process,” the six-page memorandum of the party stated.

The party also claimed that 40 lakh new names had been added to the ASDDO list during the 2024 Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assembly elections. ASDD stands for Absent, Shifted, Dead (or Deleted), and Duplicate.

Congress also claimed that the SIR exercise had failed to effectively address the issue of duplicate voters. “Nearly 25,000 duplicate names have remained in six assembly constituencies in Nagpur district — Kamthi, Hingna, Ramtek, Umred, Saoner and Katol,” the letter stated. The party demanded that the deduplication software be used effectively by the Chief Electoral Officer to remove the duplication. It also sought a thorough probe in the matter.

The party demanded a mandatory two-month extension for filing voter forms, claims and objections and sought at least three opportunities for hearings and submission of evidence. The Congress said that the current period of August 31-September 30 for filing Form 6 was inadequate, particularly as it coincided with Janmashtami, Bail Pola and Ganeshotsav. The party said that due to the festive season, the process of the serving of notices was delayed by almost a fortnight.