How much did India's voter rolls shrink after SIR? State-wise analysis

Electoral rolls across 13 states and Union territories shrank by about 58.4 million after the first two SIR phases, with wide variation in the scale and rate of reduction

The Election Commission of India (ECI) is conducting the third phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, extending the exercise to 16 states and three Union territories with more than 3.67 billion electors.

 

The latest phase comes after the poll body completed the revision in 13 states and Union territories, where the electoral roll size decreased after house-to-house verification, deletions and fresh additions during the claims and objections process.

 

Here is a state-wise look at the net reduction in electors between the rolls that existed before the SIR and the final electoral rolls.

 

Bihar

 

Bihar became the first state where the ECI carried out the SIR of electoral rolls, with the exercise beginning on June 24, 2025. During the revision, 6.5 million names were removed while preparing the draft electoral roll.

 

During the claims and objections period, 2.15 million eligible electors were added through Form 6 applications, while another 366,000 ineligible electors were removed before the final roll's publication.

 

Bihar's final electoral roll stood at around 74.2 million electors, reflecting a net reduction of about 4.7 million, or nearly 6 per cent, from the electorate that existed before the SIR began.

 

Metric	Number
Electors before SIR, June 24, 2025	78.9 million
Final electoral roll, September 30, 2025	74.2 million
Net reduction in electors	About 4.7 million
Net reduction	About 6 per cent

 

Uttar Pradesh

 

Uttar Pradesh was among the states where the poll body carried out the SIR in the second phase. According to the final electoral roll published by the state's Chief Electoral Officer, the electorate fell by about 20.4 million, or 13.21 per cent, from the level recorded before the revision began in October 2025.

 

The number of electors in the state declined from 154.4 million before the SIR to 133.9 million in the final electoral roll. During the claims and objections period, 8.43 million names were added and another 815,000 were deleted.

 

Metric	Number
Electors before SIR, October 2025	154.4 million
Final electoral roll	133.9 million
Net reduction in electors	About 20.4 million
Net reduction	13.21 per cent

 

West Bengal

 

The SIR exercise in West Bengal was completed through the publication of a final roll followed by a separate adjudication process.

 

The final electoral roll published on February 28 contained 70.46 million electors after 6.37 million names were deleted and 188,707 were added. Separately, 6.01 million electors were placed under adjudication, an additional scrutiny process used in West Bengal.

 

Following adjudication, 2.72 million of the disputed names were deleted. This brought the electorate down to about 67.74 million from 76.64 million before the SIR, a net reduction of about 8.89 million, or 11.6 per cent.

 

Metric	Number
Electors before SIR	76.64 million
Final electorate after adjudication	About 67.74 million
Net reduction in electors	About 8.89 million
Net reduction	About 11.6 per cent

 

Chhattisgarh

 

Chhattisgarh completed its SIR on February 21, 2026, nearly four months after the exercise began on October 27, 2025.

 

According to the final electoral roll, the state's electorate fell by almost 2.5 million, or 11.8 per cent. The exercise also incorporated the latest photographs submitted by electors into the updated roll.

 

Metric	Number
Electors before SIR	21.23 million
Final electoral roll	18.73 million
Net reduction in electors	Nearly 2.50 million
Net reduction	11.8 per cent

 

Rajasthan

 

The ECI conducted Rajasthan's SIR in the second phase and published the final electoral roll on February 21. The exercise resulted in a net reduction of 3.14 million electors, or 5.74 per cent, compared with the voter list at the start of the revision on October 27, 2025.

 

During the exercise, 4.18 million names were removed while preparing the draft electoral roll. After the draft was published, 1.29 million electors were added and another 242,000 names were deleted, resulting in a final electorate of 51.52 million.

 

Metric	Number
Electors before SIR	54.66 million
Final electoral roll	51.52 million
Net reduction in electors	3.14 million
Net reduction	5.74 per cent

 

Tamil Nadu

 

Tamil Nadu completed its SIR and published its final electoral roll on February 23. The electorate fell by about 7.4 million, or 11.5 per cent, compared with the voter list at the start of the revision on October 27, 2025.

 

During the exercise, 9.73 million names were removed while preparing the draft electoral roll. Following the claims and objections period, 2.75 million eligible electors were added to the rolls, while another 423,000 names were deleted, resulting in a final electorate of about 56.7 million.

 

Metric	Number
Electors before SIR	About 64.1 million
Final electoral roll	About 56.7 million
Net reduction in electors	About 7.4 million
Net reduction	11.5 per cent

 

Kerala

 

Kerala completed its SIR with the publication of the final electoral roll on February 21. The exercise resulted in a net reduction of 897,211 electors, or 3.22 per cent, compared with the voter list before the revision began in October 2025.

 

The final electoral roll comprises 13.13 million male electors, 13.83 million female electors and 227 third-gender electors. The state also has 425,000 electors in the 18–19 age group.

 

Metric	Number
Electors before SIR, October 2025 base roll	2,78,50,855
Final electoral roll	2,69,53,644
Net reduction in electors	8,97,211
Net reduction	3.22 per cent

 

Gujarat

 

Gujarat published its final electoral roll on February 17, 2026, after completing the SIR. The electorate fell by 6.81 million, or 13.4 per cent, from 50.84 million before the exercise to 44.03 million in the final roll.

 

After publication of the draft roll, 956,121 electors were added and 395,555 were deleted, resulting in a net increase of about 560,000 electors from the draft-stage total.

 

Metric	Number
Electors before SIR	50.84 million
Final electoral roll	44.03 million
Net reduction in electors	6.81 million
Net reduction	13.40 per cent

 

Madhya Pradesh

 

Madhya Pradesh completed its SIR with the publication of the final electoral roll on February 21 after a nearly four-month exercise.

 

According to the poll body, the revision resulted in a net reduction of 3.43 million electors, or about 6 per cent, on grounds including death, migration, duplication and electors not found at their registered addresses.

 

The number of electors rose from 53.13 million in the draft roll to 53.98 million after the claims and objections period, though it remained lower than the 57.41 million electors on the rolls before the SIR began.

 

Metric	Number
Electors before SIR	57.41 million
Final electoral roll	53.98 million
Net reduction in electors	3.43 million
Net reduction	5.97 per cent

 

Goa

 

Goa completed its SIR and published the final electoral roll on February 21, 2026. According to the Chief Electoral Officer, the exercise resulted in a net reduction of 127,468 electors, or 10.76 per cent, compared with the voter list before the revision began on October 27, 2025.

 

The draft electoral roll published in December contained 1.08 million electors, while the final roll stood at around 1.06 million after the claims and objections process.

 

Metric	Number
Electors before SIR, October 27, 2025	11,85,034
Final electoral roll	10,57,566
Net reduction in electors	1,27,468
Net reduction	10.76 per cent

 

Puducherry

 

Puducherry completed its SIR on February 14, 2026. The electorate fell by 77,367, or 7.57 per cent, from 1.02 million before the revision to 944,211 in the final roll.

 

The draft electoral roll published in December contained about 918,000 electors. During the claims and objections period, 42,719 eligible electors were added and 16,619 ineligible electors were deleted.

 

Metric	Number
Electors before SIR, October 27, 2025	10,21,578
Final electoral roll	9,44,211
Net reduction in electors	77,367
Net reduction	7.57 per cent

 

Andaman and Nicobar Islands

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands completed the SIR on February 21. The electorate fell by 52,364, or 16.87 per cent, the highest proportional reduction among the 13 states and Union Territories covered in the first two phases.

 

During the revision, 64,014 names were removed while preparing the draft electoral roll. During the claims and objections period, 16,919 eligible electors were added, while another 5,269 ineligible electors were deleted, taking the final electorate to 258,040.

 

Metric	Number
Electors before SIR, October 27, 2025	3,10,404
Final electoral roll, February 21, 2026	2,58,040
Net reduction in electors	52,364
Net reduction	16.87 per cent

 

Lakshadweep

 

Lakshadweep recorded the lowest proportional reduction among the states and Union territories where the first two SIR phases were completed.

 

The exercise, which concluded on February 14 alongside Puducherry, reduced the electorate by 206, or 0.36 per cent. The final electoral roll stood at 57,607 electors, down from 57,813 before the revision began.

 

Metric	Number
Electors before SIR, October 27, 2025	57,813
Final electoral roll, February 14, 2026	57,607
Net reduction in electors	206
Net reduction	0.36 per cent

 

State-wise SIR figures: What the numbers show

 

On the rounded state-wise figures, the final electoral rolls of the 13 states and Union territories show a combined net reduction of about 58.4 million electors compared with the rolls that existed before the revision began.

 

The figure represents the difference between the pre-SIR and final electorates after accounting for both deletions and fresh additions during the claims and objections process.

 

The scale of the net reduction varied widely, from 206 electors, or 0.36 per cent, in Lakshadweep to about 20.4 million, or 13.21 per cent, in Uttar Pradesh. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands recorded the highest proportional reduction at 16.87 per cent.

 

The exercise is now in its third phase, covering 16 states and three Union territories with 3.67 billion electors. After this phase, the SIR will have covered the entire country except Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, where the ECI has said the revision will be taken up later after considering the Census schedule and weather conditions.