Over 71% of voter deletions in SIR fall under ‘absent, shifted or others’; many could return to rolls: EC data
More than 71% of the nearly 13.3 crore names deleted from electoral rolls nationwide during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) have been marked under the “absent, shifted, and others” category, according to Election Commission (EC) data. Of the total deletions so far, about 9.5 crore fall into this category, while around 2.7 crore were deleted due to death and approximately 1.01 crore (7.6%) were flagged as multiple entries.
Breakdown of deletions across phases
The SIR has been conducted in multiple phases, with significant deletions recorded following field verification and roll scrutiny:
In the first two phases, held in Bihar and 12 other States and Union Territories, a total of 7.2 crore names were deleted after the enumeration period. Of these, around 5 crore were marked “absent, shifted, and others,” 1.6 crore were recorded as deceased, and about 52 lakh were identified as multiple entries.
In the third phase, 6.1 crore names were deleted. Within this, 4.5 crore were categorized as “absent, shifted, and others,” 1.1 crore were listed as deceased, and 49.6 lakh were found to be multiple entries.
Scope for reinstatement
The EC data indicates that a substantial share of deletions—those under the “absent, shifted, and others” category—may not be final. Many of these voters could return to the rolls by filing Form 6. While Form 6 is typically used for fresh registrations, the Commission is also using it during the SIR to restore names that were removed during the enumeration process but are subsequently verified.
In Phases 1 and 2, around 1.4 crore voters were added to the rolls in the final lists. However, the EC has not provided a cumulative breakdown of how many of these were first-time registrants versus voters reinstated after deletion. The final cumulative figures for Phase 3 are awaited.
Political pushback and calls to halt SIR
The large volume of deletions has triggered protests from sections of civil society and the Opposition, who have questioned the process and demanded that the SIR be scrapped. The Congress, following its Congress Working Committee meeting on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, called for all 13.3 crore deleted names to be restored to the voters’ lists. The party has also announced nationwide agitations at the State and district levels in coordination with INDIA bloc allies.
Geographic coverage and status of the exercise
Phase 3 of the SIR is currently under way in Delhi, Odisha, Mizoram, Sikkim, Manipur, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh, Telangana, Punjab, Karnataka, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Nagaland, Tripura, and the Union Territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Daman and Diu.
The exercise has already been conducted in Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Lakshadweep. In Assam, owing to the legal context of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), a “special revision” was held instead of the SIR.
With the rollout of Phase 3, the revision now covers the entire country except Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
What to watch next
The EC’s final cumulative list for Phase 3 is awaited and is expected to clarify how many of those removed under the “absent, shifted, and others” category have reapplied and been restored via Form 6. The Commission’s next updates will also be closely watched for any procedural adjustments in response to the ongoing political protests and demands for blanket restoration of deleted names.
Significance
The data underscores that a majority of deletions during the SIR are not necessarily permanent, with the EC enabling a pathway for reinstatement. However, the sheer scale of names marked as “absent, shifted, and others” has sharpened the political debate around the revision, voter access, and the integrity of the updating process ahead of future electoral cycles.
