Punjab's final electoral roll lists 2.01 crore voters, 13.6 lakh fewer than before SIR

The figures

Punjab's final electoral roll after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) was published on Monday, October 12. According to the Free Press Journal, citing the Chief Electoral Officer's office, it lists 2,01,00,727 electors across the state's 117 Assembly constituencies, down from 2,14,61,043 before the revision. That is a reduction of 13,60,316, or about 13.6 lakh.

The Free Press Journal says the removed entries fell into four categories: deceased voters, permanent migration, absent electors and duplicate registrations. Scroll does not break down the 13.6 lakh by reason.

The draft roll, published on August 13, had 1,93,94,435 electors, according to the Free Press Journal; Scroll gives about 1.9 crore. Compared with the draft, the final roll is larger by 7,06,292, per the Free Press Journal. Chief Electoral Officer Anindita Mitra said 7,97,263 new voters were added.

Notices went to 35,49,036 electors whose records could not be adequately matched or showed discrepancies, according to the Free Press Journal; Scroll gives the figure as 35.4 lakh. Of those, 86,038 were ultimately declared ineligible, per the Free Press Journal.

Scroll reports a drop of about 6.3 percent in the voter total, citing The Times of India, and the Free Press Journal gives 6.33 percent.

The timeline

Per the Free Press Journal, the Election Commission notified the SIR for Punjab on May 14 and the exercise began on June 25. Claims and objections ran from August 13 to September 12, and the notice and disposal process continued to October 8. Scroll says Punjab was one of 19 states and Union Territories in the third phase of the SIR.

Reactions

Scroll, citing The Indian Express, reports that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Congress, the Shiromani Akali Dal and the BJP all praised Mitra's handling of the revision. It quotes AAP spokesperson Ferry Sofat as saying the process in Punjab had been smooth and well coordinated. SAD spokesperson Arshdeep Singh Kler and Congress spokesperson Hardeep Singh Kingra are reported to have said their queries had been heard and answered.

Scroll places this against nationwide protests demanding that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar resign, which followed a September 23 Indian Express report that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi formally objected 14 times in 10 months to SIR-related decisions.

What is not stated

The reports read differ on when Punjab's next Assembly elections are expected: Scroll says early next year, and the Free Press Journal says February 2027.