Over 2 crore Maharashtra voters excluded from revised electoral roll draft

Around 2.08 crore voters, more than one-fifth of Maharashtra's pre-revision electorate, have been left out of the draft electoral roll published following the Special Intensive Revision exercise across all 288 Assembly constituencies in the state. The draft includes approximately 7.71 crore voters, or 78.86% of the 9.78 crore who were on the rolls before the revision.

21% of previous voters excluded

The excluded 2.08 crore voters include those whose enumeration forms were not received because they could not be found at their registered addresses, had shifted, had died, had duplicate registrations, or for other reasons including refusal to submit enumeration forms, according to election authorities. The Chief Electoral Officer, Maharashtra, has published lists of voters who were on earlier electoral rolls but are not part of the SIR 2026 draft.

Of those included in the draft, around 3.95 crore are male voters, 3.75 crore female voters, and 3,087 third-gender voters.

How to check and register

Voters can verify whether their names appear on the draft through the Election Commission of India's Voter Service Portal. Eligible voters whose names are missing, as well as new voters who turn 18 on or before the qualifying date of October 1, 2026, can submit Form 6 along with the prescribed declaration during the claims and objections period from August 31 to September 30.

A voter from the concerned constituency can file an objection to an entry through Form 7, while those seeking corrections to details such as name, address, age, or gender can apply through Form 8. After verification, the Electoral Registration Officer will decide on the application, and eligible voters can be included in the final electoral roll.

Timeline and penalties

The disposal of claims, objections and notices will continue until October 29, after which the final electoral roll is scheduled to be published on November 4. If an application seeking inclusion or amendment is rejected due to the absence of prescribed documents, the voter can submit a fresh application with the required documents or appeal under Section 24 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.

The ECI has warned that making a false declaration or statement while applying for name inclusion, correction, or deletion makes the concerned person liable to imprisonment for up to one year, a fine, or both, under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.

Polling station changes

As part of the SIR exercise, 394 new polling stations have been created in addition to the existing 1,00,253 polling stations. However, 431 polling stations were reduced due to a decrease in voters, bringing the total number of polling stations to 1,00,216. The locations of 1,403 polling stations were changed, including the shifting of polling stations from temporary structures to permanent buildings within Mumbai City, Mumbai Suburban, Thane, and Palghar districts, as per ECI instructions.

Source: The Hindu