Gujarat’s electoral machinery is grappling with a fresh wave of voter roll corrections after receiving more than 9.3 lakh applications seeking deletion of names from the draft electoral list, even as a large chunk of voters had already been removed during an earlier revision exercise, officials said.
According to data available with the Chief Electoral Officer’s (CEO) office and cited in media reports, nearly 73.4 lakh names were struck off the rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process conducted ahead of the publication of the draft list in December.
That exercise led to a sharp contraction in the state’s electorate, with the voter count dropping by around 14% — from nearly 5 crore to about 4.3 crore.
Despite the earlier clean-up, election authorities have now received 9.3 lakh fresh deletion requests through Form 7, prompting a detailed verification drive across districts. Each application is being examined individually, officials said, stressing that submissions do not automatically translate into removals.
According to media reports, Ahmedabad has emerged as a major hotspot, accounting for around 2.3 lakh deletion requests. Senior officials attribute this spike largely to large-scale redevelopment projects and demolition drives that have altered residential patterns in several parts of the city. Neighbourhoods such as Ramapir no Tekro in Vadaj, areas around Chandola lake, Bapunagar and parts of Naranpura have seen extensive changes, leading to confusion over voter addresses and eligibility.
Explaining the process, Gujarat Chief Electoral Officer Hareet Shukla told media persons that deletion requests would be scrutinised thoroughly. “Receiving forms does not mean the names will be deleted. The person seeking deletion will be called, and the responsibility to justify the request will lie with them,” he said, according to officials familiar with the process.
Election officials noted that in Ahmedabad, many objections were duplicated, with multiple forms sometimes filed against the same voter by individuals, political parties or even booth-level officers. During the SIR exercise, election camps were organised in redevelopment zones to verify voters, but objections continued to pour in, largely citing changes in residence.
One senior officer said that migrant workers formed a significant part of the problem. “In several cases, names were retained earlier because neighbours had attested that the voters lived there. Now objections are being raised to ensure that those who have permanently moved away are removed from the rolls,” the officer was quoted in media reports.
At the same time, the revision process has triggered a counter-movement. Around 6.2 lakh people have applied for fresh inclusion in the voter list, many claiming their names were deleted during the SIR. Officials said some applicants had turned 18 just as the draft roll was being finalised, while others assumed their names would remain intact and failed to return verification forms.
In addition, nearly 4.7 lakh voters have submitted Form 8 applications seeking corrections such as changes in address, spelling of names or photographs. These requests, too, are concentrated largely in urban areas, where population mobility is higher.
Election authorities maintain that the exercise is aimed at creating an accurate and up-to-date electoral roll, even if the scale of deletions and additions has sparked political and public debate. With verification still underway, the final voter list is expected to reflect the outcome of one of the most extensive roll-cleaning exercises Gujarat has seen in recent years.
Also Read: Gujarat’s Voter List Faces Purge, Electorate Drops 74 Lakh https://www.vibesofindia.com/gujarats-voter-list-faces-purge-electorate-drops-74-lakh/
