India's voter verification drive finds 10% of electorate bogus across 12 states, 5.2 cr names deleted

India’s voter verification exercise across 12 states and Union territories found nearly 10% of the electorate to be invalid, resulting in net deletions of about 5.2 crore names from an initial base of around 51 crore voters at the start of the special intensive revision (SIR) on October 27, 2025.

Overall deletions stood at 7.2 crore, but the inclusion of over 2 crore new voters reduced the net deletions. These additions came through fresh registrations (Form 6) and updates by existing voters at new addresses (Form 8).

Identification of invalid entries

Data from the Election Commission showed that over 6.5 crore entries classified as absent, shifted, dead, doubly enrolled and “other” electors were removed from rolls in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Puducherry, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Kerala and Lakshadweep.

Another 63.2 lakh names were deleted through Form 7 and adjudication, a process used only in West Bengal, where 27.2 lakh names were struck off by judicial officers.

Following the clean-up, the total number of voters stood at 45.8 crore across the 12 states and UTs.

Reasons for removals

Of the deletions, 66.9 lakh were due to deaths, 1.3 crore due to multiple enrolments, and another 1.3 crore were found absent from registered addresses. Around 3.1 crore had permanently shifted, while 12.7 lakh fell under the “others” category.

“After the purification of rolls, there now exist 45.8 crore voters in the 12 states/UTs. The deletion of over 6.5 crore ASDD and other electors who were there on the rolls but not voting and posed the risk of bogus voting in their names, has led to a pure and accurate roll, serving the purpose of SIR. This explains the all-time high turnouts in Assam and Puducherry on April 9,” said an EC official.

State-wise variation in roll purification

The highest purification rate was recorded in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands at 16.6%, followed by Uttar Pradesh at 13.2%, Gujarat at 13.1% and Chhattisgarh at 11.3%.

West Bengal ranked fifth, with 27.1 lakh deletions after adjudication and another 6 lakh removed following objections. Tamil Nadu and Goa recorded net deletions of 10.6% and 10.2%, while Puducherry saw a 7% decline. Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Kerala and Lakshadweep reported lower figures of 5.7%, 5.4%, 2.5% and 0.3%.

Of the 2 crore names added during the exercise, Uttar Pradesh accounted for 92.4 lakh, followed by Tamil Nadu with 35 lakh, Kerala with 20.4 lakh, Rajasthan with 15.4 lakh, Madhya Pradesh with 12.9 lakh and Gujarat with 12.1 lakh.