Capital gets 1,914 new polling stations after rationalisation exercise

Delhi’s polling station count has risen from 13,033 to 14,947, an increase of 1,914 stations. The number of polling-station locations in the city, which has 70 Assembly constituencies, has also increased from 2,696 to 2,856.  The new polling station was added following a rationalisation exercise carried out across all 70 assembly constituencies of the national capital.

The exercise was carried out as part of the Special Intensive Revision 2026. Rationalisation was undertaken in view of the Election Commission’s (EC) decision to reduce the limit of 1,500 electors per polling station to 1,200 electors per polling station in view of voters’ convenience.

As per data shared by the chief electoral office (CEO), South West district’s polling stations rose from 1,187 to 1,351, and North West district’s count went up from 1,248 to 1,403, according to the data. East district recorded an increase from 1,333 to 1,543, while South district rose from 1,124 to 1,367. Central North district saw its polling stations increase from 768 to 863, and Outer North district’s count rose from 904 to 975.

North district’s polling stations went up from 873 to 971, while Central district increased from 633 to 682. Old Delhi district recorded a rise from 541 to 642 polling stations, the smallest increase in absolute terms among all districts. New Delhi district saw the least change, with polling stations rising marginally from 208 to 214. District-wise data released with the note showed North East district recording the highest number of polling stations after rationalisation, rising from 1,585 to 1,829. West district followed, with polling stations increasing from 1,390 to 1,543, while South East district saw an increase from 1,239 to 1,564.

The rationalisation began with physical verification of existing polling station locations by senior officers appointed by District Election Officers, who assessed the feasibility of current sites for conducting future elections in Delhi.

New polling station locations were identified during the process, and new stations were created strictly in line with Election Commission guidelines. Electors were shifted to adjacent or newly created polling stations wherever the elector count at a station exceeded 1,200, to bring numbers within the revised limit.

Meetings were held with recognised political parties by Electoral Registration Officers at the assembly constituency level and by District Election Officers at the district level, to seek their suggestions during the rationalisation process.

The number of polling station locations across Delhi also increased from 2,696 to 2,856 during the exercise, according to the data. North East district recorded the highest number of polling station locations after rationalisation, at 321, followed by West district at 316.

New Delhi, Central and Central North districts recorded no change in the number of polling station locations, at 87, 140 and 166 respectively, even as the number of polling stations within these districts increased. The Chief Electoral Officer’s note stated that the objective of the exercise was to ensure no eligible citizen is left out while no ineligible person is included in the electoral roll.

Under the SIR exercise, more than 47 lakh voters out of 1.45 crore are going to be removed from the draft electoral rolls to be published on August 31. The enumeration forms of these voters were marked “uncollectable” during the door-to-door verification exercise that concluded on August 17.