Delhi Election Commission Issues 3.3 Million Voter Discrepancy Notices

The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Delhi has issued approximately 3.31 million notices to voters following a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls. This follows the August 31 publication of a draft roll that excluded 4.7 million of the city's 14.5 million voters, representing a 32.8% decline in electors. The notices target individuals with logical discrepancies or those whose records could not be mapped to the 2002 revision.

High-profile recipients include External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, BJP veteran L.K. Advani, former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his family, and Election Commissioner S.S. Sandhu. While Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and S.S. Sandhu had their entries validated shortly after receiving notices, others must submit supporting documents by October 29 to ensure inclusion in the final roll scheduled for November 4.

The process has sparked intense political backlash. The Indian National Congress alleged the SIR is a "Shah-instigated removal" of voters designed to disenfranchise vulnerable groups, while Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut claimed the government is purging non-supporters. Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal characterized the exercise as a "special intensive deletion."

In response, the Chief Electoral Officer clarified that the notices are system-generated for data correction and do not result in automatic deletion. Officials stated that no name will be removed without a hearing and a formal, appealable order. As of September 19, the office reported receiving over 296,000 Form-6 applications for inclusion.