Uttar Pradesh has completed a massive clean-up of its electoral rolls with the conclusion of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, a move that has significantly altered the state’s voter landscape ahead of upcoming elections. Election officials are set to publish the revised draft voter list on December 31, reflecting extensive deletions and corrections across constituencies.
Sources indicate that close to 2.9 crore names have been excluded from the rolls after verification, accounting for roughly 19 per cent of the electorate. The exercise was aimed at removing outdated and inaccurate entries, including those of voters who have relocated, passed away, or were registered more than once.
Officials involved in the process said a large share of deletions involved voters who had permanently shifted out of their constituencies and had formally reported their relocation during verification. Another substantial portion of names was removed after being identified as deceased or duplicate entries. In addition, lakhs of voters failed to complete mandatory documentation, while several others could not be traced during field verification.
The impact of the revision has been particularly stark in urban areas. Lucknow, the state capital, witnessed a sharp drop in its voter count, with nearly 12 lakh names removed following the exercise. While a majority of voters in the city participated in the revision process, a sizeable number were dropped due to duplication or non-compliance with SIR requirements.
Data from Lucknow’s assembly segments shows uneven participation in form submissions, with some constituencies recording high response rates and others lagging behind. Election authorities said these variations will be reviewed during the claims and objections phase to ensure no eligible voter is unfairly excluded.
The draft electoral roll will be open for public scrutiny from December 31, allowing citizens to file corrections, objections, or inclusion requests until January 30, 2026. After addressing these claims, the final voter list is scheduled to be published on February 28, 2026.
The large-scale revision has also sparked political reactions. Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav alleged that the scale of deletions has caused unrest within the ruling BJP, claiming that a significant number of removed names belonged to its support base. He argued that the issue could have serious political implications in the run-up to elections.
