The Election Commission published the draft electoral roll after the conclusion of verification phase of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls on Monday, opening a month-long window for claims and objections till September 30. The draft roll includes 31,95,078 voters, representing 68.88 per cent of the district’s total electorate of 46,38,589. These are voters whose signed Enumeration Forms (EFs) were received during the verification drive conducted by Booth Level Officers (BLOs). The remaining 14,43,511 voters (31.12 per cent) have not been included in the draft roll and have been placed under separate Absent, Shifted permanently, Dead, Duplicate (ASDD) categories pending further verification. The district has emerged the third highest in State among districts for not including electors in draft electoral roll.

 

 

Kumar Ashirvad, District Collector and District Election Officer, urged citizens to verify their names in the draft list, now available on the Election Commission’s Voter Service Portal, the Chief Electoral Officer’s website, Electoral Registration Offices, tehsil offices and recognised political party offices. The district also recorded 4,47,874 voters with discrepancies and 4,18,012 unmapped electors, whose records could not be matched with older electoral rolls. A total of 4,610 BLOs participated in the exercise. Following rationalisation, the number of polling stations in Nagpur district has reduced from 4,610 to 4,607. SIR drive faces questions over ground verification: While the Election Commission has completed the draft-roll stage, questions continue to be raised over the quality of field verification during the Special Intensive Revision exercise.

 

Over the past two months, several citizens across the city reported that Booth Level Officers (BLOs) never visited their homes despite official claims of door-to-door verification. Political parties and resident groups had also alleged that many voters were marked absent without any physical visit. The issue gained significance because voters whose Enumeration Forms were not collected now figure in categories such as absent, shifted, unmapped or discrepancy cases. Several citizens had earlier told The Hitavada that they submitted forms only after personally approaching BLOs or local election offices. Election authorities have maintained that the exercise was conducted according to prescribed guidelines and that the publication of the draft roll is only an intermediate stage. Officials have emphasised that all affected voters will receive an opportunity to file claims, objections or supporting documents before the final roll is published.

 

The next two months are therefore expected to be crucial in determining how many voters excluded from the draft list ultimately find a place in the final electoral roll. Sharp fall seen across all voter categories: The draft electoral roll released under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has recorded a significant decline in the number of voters across all gender categories in Nagpur district. The number of male voters has fallen from 22,54,907 in the previous electoral roll to 15,99,760 in the draft list, a reduction of 6,55,147 voters, or 29.05 per cent. Similarly, the number of female voters has declined from 22,49,792 to 15,95,439, a drop of 6,54,353 voters, representing a 29.08 per cent decrease. The sharpest decline has been recorded among third-gender voters. Their number has fallen from 297 to 123, a reduction of 174 voters, or 58.59 per cent. Election officials have clarified that the draft roll is provisional and that claims, objections and verification proceedings will continue until publication of the final electoral roll on November 4.

 

 

The 14,43,511 electors excluded from draft voter list from the district makes Nagpur district with the third highest numbers of electors from last elector list. Out of total 2,06,88,487 electors who are not included in State, nearly 7 per cent voters are from the district. Only Thane district with 28,59,377 voters, and Mumbai Suburban district with 26,58,202 voters featured higher on the list. 

 

 

Election officials said notices will now be served to voters whose records contain logical discrepancies or remain unmapped with the 2002 electoral database. Such voters will be required to submit prescribed