The Election Commission of India (ECI) on January 6, 2026, released the draft electoral roll for Uttar Pradesh following the completion of the enumeration phase under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), resulting in the deletion of approximately 2.89 crore names. Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa announced that the voter list, which stood at 15.44 crore as of October 27, 2025, has been reduced to 12.55 crore, marking a significant 18.7 percent contraction—or nearly one in every five voters. The SIR process, aimed at cleaning and updating the electoral rolls through intensive verification, saw an overwhelming response, with 125,556,025 electors submitting their enumeration forms by the December 26, 2025, deadline.

The deletions primarily comprise three categories: around 46.23 lakh (2.99 percent) deceased voters, 2.17 crore (14.06 percent) individuals who have shifted to other locations, and 25.46 lakh (1.65 percent) duplicate entries. These figures reflect the ECI's efforts to remove inaccuracies that had accumulated over time in the world's largest democracy's most populous state. The revision is part of a broader nationwide exercise to ensure the integrity of voter lists ahead of upcoming elections, including the crucial 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls. Genuine electors whose names may have been inadvertently dropped can still be reinstated during the claims and objections period, with the ECI setting up help desks and camps to assist affected voters.

The scale of the revision has drawn attention due to Uttar Pradesh's pivotal role in national politics, where even small percentage changes in voter numbers can influence electoral outcomes significantly. The ECI emphasized that the process was transparent and participatory, with high compliance from citizens submitting forms. While the reduction is substantial, officials have described it as a necessary step to eliminate ghost voters, duplicates, and outdated records, thereby strengthening the credibility of future elections. The draft roll is now open for public scrutiny, allowing eligible voters to verify their status and file claims if required.

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This development marks one of the largest single-state voter roll clean-ups in recent Indian electoral history, underscoring the ECI's commitment to maintaining accurate and error-free lists. As the claims and objections phase begins, authorities have urged affected individuals to approach designated booths or online portals promptly to ensure their inclusion in the final electoral roll. The exercise is expected to set a precedent for similar intensive revisions in other states in the coming months.

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