Delhi draft voter roll shrinks 37.18% after SIR

The draft roll for Delhi after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise has 97,53,577 electors, compared to 1,55,24,858 in the electoral roll used for the Assembly elections held last February — a decline of 57,71,281, or 37.18 per cent.

Men account for a larger share of the decline as their numbers fell from 83,49,645 in 2025 to 49,88,993 in the draft roll, a reduction of 40.25 per cent. The number of female electors fell from 71,73,952 to 47,64,137, or 33.59 per cent.

As a result, women now account for 48.85 per cent of the draft electorate, compared to 46.21 per cent in the 2025 roll. The difference between male and female electors has narrowed from 11.76 lakh to 2.25 lakh. The change is significant among third-gender electors, whose numbers fell from 1,261 in 2025 to 447 in the draft roll, a reduction of 64.55 per cent.

The draft also has about half as many first-time voters in the 18 to 19 age group as compared to the 2025 roll. Their numbers have fallen from 2,08,302 in 2025 to 1,03,870 now, a decline of 50.13 per cent.

Among electors aged 85 years and above, the number has fallen from 1,09,941 in 2025 to 40,871, or by 62.82 per cent. The draft roll separately lists 189 electors aged 100 years and above.

The largest of these categories was permanently shifted, absent or others, at 43,32,775 electors, or 29.86 per cent of the starting figures. Another 2,82,412 electors, or 1.95 per cent, were reported dead, while 1,41,535, or 0.98 per cent, were identified as enrolled at multiple places or duplicates.

The 57.71 lakh difference between the 2025 roll and the draft roll cannot, however, be treated as the number of electors deleted through the SIR.

The election authorities placed the remaining 47,56,722 electors in categories covering those who shifted permanently, were absent or otherwise not found, dead, and those enrolled at multiple places or identified as duplicates.  The 2025 Assembly election roll had 1,55,24,858 electors, whereas the SIR began with 1,45,10,299 electors. The draft roll figures of 97,53,577 reflect the enumeration forms collected during the exercise.

The 2025 Assembly election roll had 1,55,24,858 electors, whereas the SIR began with 1,45,10,299 electors. The draft roll figures of 97,53,577 reflect the enumeration forms collected during the exercise.

The draft roll is not the final electoral roll. The claims and objections period began on Monday and will continue till September 30. Electors whose names are missing can seek inclusion by submitting Form 6 with the prescribed declaration.

The Election Commission has also asked those who will turn 18 on or before October 1, 2026, to apply for inclusion through Form 6. Special enrolment drives are planned across Delhi. Transpersons and community representatives had pointed to problems during the enumeration stage, including differences in names across documents, difficulties in providing permanent address proof and lack of access to documents held by estranged family members.