Draft Electoral Rolls Shed 22 Lakh Voters Across Four States

Aizawl: Nearly 22 lakh voters vanished from draft electoral rolls in Mizoram, Odisha, Manipur, and Sikkim. The total electorate in these states dropped from 3.68 crore to 3.46 crore during the third phase of the Special Intensive Revision. Odisha saw the biggest hit. The state lost 20.11 lakh names alone.

The Election Commission is running this revision across 16 states and three Union Territories. Total voter counts hit 36.73 crore when the process started back on May 14. These numbers are not set in stone yet. Citizens left off the draft lists still have a chance to get back on the rolls before the final publication later this year.

Controversy shadows the exercise. Earlier, officials in Bihar claimed field checks turned up ineligible voters from Bangladesh, Nepal, and Myanmar. The Commission never provided hard data to back that up. Opposition parties slammed the move as a political power play. They argued that the Election Commission is being used to prune voters who might oppose the BJP and its allies. An opposition statement noted the move is "being used to target voters perceived as being opposed to the BJP and its allies."