Daijiworld Media Network - Bhopal
Bhopal, Dec 23: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday released the Integrated Draft Electoral Roll for Madhya Pradesh following the completion of the door-to-door Special Intensive Revision (SIR), an exercise that had generated considerable debate across the state.
The draft roll was finalised after a review meeting with Madhya Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Sanjeev Kumar Jha in Bhopal. According to the ECI, the revision process resulted in the removal of 42.72 lakh voter names from the electoral rolls. In addition, around 8.4 lakh voters could not be successfully mapped during the verification drive.
The Commission clarified that voters whose names are missing from the draft roll will still have an opportunity to seek inclusion. With the publication of the draft, the official “Claims and Objections” period has begun across all 52 districts of the state and will remain open until January 15, 2026.
During this period, electors can apply for inclusion of names, correction of details, or deletion of incorrect entries. The ECI has urged voters to carefully verify their information to ensure that eligible citizens are not excluded and that ineligible entries are removed. This phase is especially critical for voters placed under ‘Notice’ status, as failure to complete identity verification could lead to permanent deletion from the rolls.
The revision exercise involved more than 65,000 Booth Level Officers (BLOs), who conducted door-to-door verification starting November 4. Madhya Pradesh had over 6.65 crore registered voters in 2023.
Soon after the draft roll was released, Madhya Pradesh Congress president Jitu Patwari alleged that the removal of 42.72 lakh voters had influenced the outcome of the 2023 Assembly elections. Addressing a press conference in Bhopal, Patwari claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party’s victory margin of around 30 lakh votes over the Congress suggested that the deleted voters were “fake” and favoured the BJP.
Madhya Pradesh has 230 Assembly constituencies and 29 Lok Sabha seats across 55 districts, grouped into 10 administrative divisions, including Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Ujjain and Rewa.