Over 2 Crore Voters Missing from Maharashtra’s Draft Electoral Roll

Over 2 Crore Voters Missing from Maharashtra’s Draft Electoral Roll

More than 2.06 crore voters have not been included in Maharashtra’s draft electoral roll, according to the Chief Electoral Officer. The draft list was published on Monday as part of a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral records, covering all 288 Assembly constituencies in the state.

The excluded voters—2,06,88,487 people—represent about 21.14% of the state’s previous electorate of 9,78,54,049. The draft roll now includes 7,71,65,562 electors, or 78.86% of the earlier figure. This comprises 3,95,89,905 male voters, 3,75,72,570 female voters, and 3,087 third-gender voters, as per state election authorities.

Officials attributed the missing names to administrative and procedural causes. Many voters were untraceable at their registered addresses, had shifted residences, were deceased, had duplicate or alternative registrations, or had enrolled elsewhere. Some did not submit their enumeration forms, and others declined to fill them out, making the forms uncollectable.

District-wise, Pune recorded the highest number of uncollected forms at approximately 28.6 lakh, followed by Thane with 28.5 lakh, Mumbai Suburban with 26.5 lakh, Nagpur with 14.43 lakh, Nashik with 10.27 lakh, and Mumbai City with 9.5 lakh, according to officials.

The Election Commission has opened a claims and objections window from August 31 to September 30 for eligible voters whose names are missing from the draft roll. Voters can apply for inclusion using Form 6, raise objections to entries through Form 7, and request corrections to details such as name, address, age, or gender via Form 8. New voters who have attained or will attain the age of 18 by October 1, 2026, can also submit Form 6 with the required declaration.

Electoral Registration Officers and their assistants will examine the claims, objections, and related notices between August 31 and October 29. The final electoral roll is scheduled to be published on November 4, in line with the Election Commission’s timetable.

The draft rolls are available on the Election Commission of India’s Voter Service Portal, the Chief Electoral Officer of Maharashtra’s website, and the respective district election officers’ websites. Copies have also been provided to representatives of recognised political parties at the district level, along with lists of voters whose names were not included and the reasons for exclusion.

In a related development, the number of polling stations in Maharashtra was rationalised from 1,00,253 to 1,00,216. As part of this exercise, the locations of 1,403 polling stations were changed, with adjustments particularly in Mumbai City, Mumbai Suburban, Thane, Pune, Nagpur, and Nashik districts.

Officials have urged voters to verify their names in the draft roll and use the claims window to ensure their inclusion before the final list is published.