News Body :
Lucknow: The draft electoral roll for Uttar Pradesh was published on Tuesday following a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, with 12.55 crore voters retained out of the earlier 15.44 crore, according to Navdeep Rinwa, Chief Electoral Officer of Uttar Pradesh.
Addressing a press conference, Rinwa said that around 2.89 crore voters (18.70%) could not be included in the draft roll due to death, permanent migration, or multiple registrations. The revision exercise involved a door-to-door enumeration drive, during which enumeration forms were required to be filled and signed by voters or their family members.
The enumeration process, initially scheduled to conclude on December 11, was extended by 15 days till December 26 after the state administration observed that nearly 2.97 crore names were at risk of exclusion.
According to official data, out of 15,44,30,092 voters listed in the October 27, 2025 electoral roll, enumeration forms were received for 12,55,56,025 voters, accounting for 81.30% of the electorate.
Rinwa explained that the publication of the draft roll, originally fixed for December 31, was delayed due to parallel field operations and new instructions from the Election Commission of India to rationalise polling stations. Under revised norms, the maximum number of voters per polling station has been capped at 1,200 instead of 1,500, leading to the creation of 15,030 new polling stations across the state.
Approval for this restructuring was received on December 23, and additional time was required for data migration, resulting in the draft roll being published on January 6.
Breaking down the exclusions, Rinwa said 46.23 lakh voters (2.99%) were found to be deceased, 2.57 crore voters (14.06%) had permanently migrated or were unavailable during verification, and 25.47 lakh voters (1.65%) were found to be registered at more than one location.
The updated draft roll now covers all 75 districts and 403 Assembly constituencies of Uttar Pradesh. The exercise involved 1,72,486 polling booths, with booth-level officers supported by volunteers. Rinwa also acknowledged the role of political parties, noting that 5,76,611 booth-level agents appointed by recognised parties assisted in the revision process.
A one-month claims and objections period has begun from January 6 and will continue till February 6, during which voters can apply for inclusion, correction of details, or raise objections to the draft electoral roll.
