Maharashtra’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has come under fresh scrutiny after NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar claimed that the number of voters excluded from the process could eventually rise to nearly three crore. Pawar raised the concerns at a press conference in Mumbai on Sunday, alleging irregularities in voter verification and questioning how election officials were handling complaints.
According to data cited during the SIR exercise, Maharashtra has 9.78 crore registered voters, while enumeration forms for 2.07 crore voters had not been collected. Election officials have attributed such cases to voters being deceased, untraceable, permanently shifted or listed more than once. Pawar said the current figure could increase after further scrutiny of the voters whose forms were not collected.
“Out of the 1.22 crore under scrutiny, some people will definitely be disqualified and the figure of 2.07 crore deleted voters could increase further and may even reach 3 crore,” Pawar said, according to the report. His statement referred to voters whose records are being examined as part of the revision process.
Pawar alleged that Booth-Level Officers in some areas had conducted what he described as “table surveys” instead of physically verifying voters. He also claimed that information was being supplied by BJP workers. The allegations, he said, had emerged in parts of Pune, Nashik and Thane, although he questioned why action had not been taken despite complaints being submitted to election officials.
The MLA further alleged that voter records contained errors even after the revision exercise. He cited instances in which living people were shown as deceased, as well as cases where photographs and gender details did not match the records. Pawar claimed that the verification process had been centralised and that decisions concerning voter records were being taken through a system based in Delhi.
Pawar said he had submitted evidence and suggestions to Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officer S. Chockalingam. These included establishing whether physical verification had actually taken place for certain voters in his Karjat-Jamkhed constituency. The source report did not include a response from the Chief Electoral Officer or the Election Commission to the allegations.
The issue also intersects with the wider political debate over delimitation and electoral reforms. Pawar claimed that 40–50 lakh voters had been added in Maharashtra between the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections through Form 6, which is used for applications for inclusion in electoral rolls. He alleged that a similar increase could occur again.
Pawar said the SIR exercise and delimitation together could affect voting rights and reservations. He appealed to Opposition parties, social organisations and citizens to participate in a broader effort to protect electoral rights. He also expressed support for an agitation calling for the removal of electronic voting machines and greater transparency and technological safeguards in elections.
The immediate administrative question is how election authorities will verify the uncollected forms, resolve disputed records and respond to complaints about incorrect voter details. The revision process and the handling of Pawar’s submissions to the Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officer are the next developments to watch.
