ECI Under Scrutiny: Millions Face Disenfranchisement in Flawed Voter Roll Revision
ECI Under Scrutiny: Millions Face Disenfranchisement in Flawed Voter Roll Revision
The Election Commission of India's SIR process is under fire for deleting millions of eligible voters. With high appeal success rates, critics demand an end to 'delete first, verify later' methods. A crucial issue for de
The Election Commission of India (ECI) often states that "not one eligible elector should be left out of the electoral rolls." However, recent data from its Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process paints a concerning picture, suggesting a widespread potential for disenfranchisement across several states.
In West Bengal, out of over 38 lakh appeals submitted to SIR appellate tribunals, only a little over 1.22 lakh were disposed of by early September 2026. Crucially, nearly 93% of these decided appeals resulted in electors being added back to the rolls. This statistic strongly indicates that the initial verification phase in West Bengal, which deemed 27 lakh of 60 lakh flagged electors as ineligible, was deeply flawed.
More than 22 lakh of those initially found ineligible have since appealed, and the high inclusion rate suggests a majority should not have been struck off in the first place, now facing a battle to regain their voting rights.
With municipal elections approaching, the ECI faces pressure to expedite this appellate process.
Delhi also shows worrying trends. An analysis by The Hindu revealed that in 24 out of 70 constituencies, the draft roll now records fewer electors than those who voted in the February 2025 Assembly election. Such large-scale deletions, absent major migration, point to enumeration errors.
The process unfairly places the burden of proving eligibility on the elector, and the ECI's "mapping" system, linking electors to older rolls, frequently manufactures "discrepancies" even when documents are valid. In Delhi, this has put 13.79 lakh electors under notice and flagged another 19.33 lakh for vaguely defined "logical discrepancies." Adding to the concern, Odisha's SIR process has reportedly led to the deletion of over 20 lakh voters.
The Supreme Court of India, which is currently hearing petitions challenging the SIR process in Delhi and West Bengal, previously intervened sharply in Bihar to prevent eligible voters from being struck off. Critics argue that the Court's subsequent permissiveness has allowed a level of disenfranchisement that could tarnish the principle of universal adult franchise in India.
It is imperative that the ECI re-evaluates its methodology, ends its "delete first, verify later" approach, and ensures that every eligible citizen's right to vote is protected.
