More Than 16% of Haryana Voters Flagged as Absent, Shifted or Deceased in First SIR Round

New Delhi – Haryana’s chief electoral officer, A Sreenivas, stepped up to the podium on Saturday and laid out the numbers that emerged from the first phase of the state’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Out of a total of 2,06,55,929 registered voters, roughly 16.39% – that’s about 33.8 lakh people – were marked as either absent, permanently shifted, dead or otherwise un‑trackable.

The verification drive, which kicked off on June 15, saw booth‑level officers (BLOs) knocking on doors across the state until July 24. Every adult elector was handed an enumeration form; those returned with the required documents fed into a draft roll that will be published on July 31.

But the exercise also uncovered what the CEO termed “system‑generated anomalies.” Around 26.3 lakh entries showed mismatches – strange age gaps between a voter and their parents or grandparents, spelling errors, or photograph discrepancies. These will be double‑checked before any name is finally erased.

Breaking down the 16.39% that couldn’t be mapped: 9,36,646 voters (27.67% of the deleted batch) were simply absent, 13,75,278 (40.63%) had moved permanently, 7,66,205 (22.64%) were recorded as deceased, 2,04,916 (6.05%) were duplicate entries, and 1,01,523 (3%) failed to submit their forms for assorted reasons.

For those whose names disappear from the July 31 draft, the door isn’t shut forever. The election law allows any aggrieved citizen to file a Form 6 – either online or at a designated centre – to have their name reconsidered for the final roll, slated for release on October 3.

Sreenivas stressed that no voter will be struck off without a chance to be heard. If an elector disagrees with the decision of the electoral registration officer (ERO), they can appeal to the district magistrate within 15 days, and if needed, take the matter up with the CEO within 30 days. The notice and objection window runs until September 28.

In total, 20,629 BLOs distributed the enumeration forms, and 1,72,71,361 of them (about 83.61%) have already been digitised. Assisting the effort are 37,055 booth‑level agents (BLAs) appointed by political parties – 19,051 by the BJP, 15,818 by Congress, 1,476 by INLD and 342 by JJP – alongside district election officers and, in the next phase, assistant electoral registration officers.

The CEO wrapped up by assuring the public that the entire process is being handled with “full transparency,” multiple checks, and plenty of opportunities for voters to contest any deletion.