RANCHI: The Election Commission of India has released the draft electoral roll for Jharkhand following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, with a total of 4.36 million names from the previous voter list omitted, a statement said on Wednesday.

 

Those excluded include deceased voters, duplicate entries, people who have permanently shifted elsewhere, untraceable voters, and individuals who did not sign the enumeration forms.

 

The Election Commission clarified that this is only a draft list and not the final electoral roll. Eligible voters whose names are missing can apply for inclusion between August 5 and September 4, it said.

 

According to the statement, the SIR exercise was conducted across the state from June 30 to July 29, during which 22.10 million of the state’s total 26.46 million registered voters, representing 83.51 per cent of the electorate, submitted their enumeration forms. Booth Level Officers (BLOs) collected forms through door-to-door visits, while digitally submitted forms were also accepted.

 

The Commission stated that a total of 43,61,987 names from the previous electoral roll have not been included in the draft list. Of these, 4,38,596 were identified as duplicate entries, while 7,63,903 voters were found to be deceased.

 

Another 15,92,194 voters were recorded as having permanently shifted to other locations.

 

In addition, 14,50,810 names were excluded because the individuals could not be traced during the verification process. Further, 1,16,484 people were left out after they refused to sign the enumeration forms.

 

The Election Commission emphasised that voters whose names were included in the 2026 electoral roll but whose enumeration forms could not be submitted for any reason need not worry. Such eligible voters can submit Form 6 along with a declaration between August 5 and September 4 to seek re-inclusion in the electoral roll.

 

Voters can verify their names in the draft electoral roll through the Chief Electoral Officer’s website, the Voters’ Portal, the ECINet mobile application, or by visiting their respective polling stations.

 

Alongside the draft roll, the ASDD (Absent, Shifted, Dead, and Duplicate) list has also been published, detailing the names of persons categorised as deceased, duplicate, permanently shifted or untraceable, along with the reasons for their exclusion.

 

The Commission said that officials across all 24 districts participated in the exercise, including 81 Electoral Registration Officers, 29,571 Booth Level Officers, an equal number of volunteers, and 77,430 Booth Level Agents representing various political parties.

 

To improve voter convenience, 2,389 new polling stations have also been established across the state, taking the total number of polling booths in Jharkhand to 31,892.

 

The Election Commission has said that no individual’s name has been permanently deleted at this stage. Before any deletion is finalised, the concerned voter will be issued a notice, given an opportunity to present their case, and the matter will be decided in accordance with established procedures.

 

The final electoral roll will be published on October 7 after the completion of the claims and objections process.