31.59 Lakh Names Marked Permanently Shifted in Delhi Draft Electoral Roll
More than six in every 10 names left out of Delhi's draft electoral roll published on Monday have been marked as 'permanently shifted', accounting for 31.59 lakh of the total 47.56 lakh exclusions in the ongoing special intensive revision drive, with high concentrations reported in areas such as Deoli, Tughlaqabad, Okhla, Karawal Nagar, Kasturba Nagar, and Mustafabad.
The exclusions have been categorised under 'absent', 'shifted', 'dead', and 'duplicate' (ASDD). Out of the removed entries, 31.59 lakh were classified as 'permanently shifted', 11.73 lakh as 'untraceable/absent', 2.82 lakh as 'dead', and 1.41 lakh as 'duplicate' or 'already enrolled'. Over 10 lakh electors marked as permanently shifted belong to the 30-39 age group.
An analysis of the ASDD voter lists across all 14,947 polling booths in Delhi's 70 Assembly constituencies revealed that at least one booth in every constituency had more than 95% of exclusions falling under a single category. In 1,042 of the 1,090 booths with such concentrated exclusions, 'permanently shifted' was the primary reason. These 1,042 booths account for nearly 4.5 lakh deletions, including 4.37 lakh marked as permanently shifted. Most of these booths are situated in South East district with 216 booths, South district with 204 booths, and North East district with 147 booths.
In two polling booths in Shyam Nagar under the Rajouri Garden constituency, all 617 removed names were categorized as 'absent/untraceable'. Additionally, of the 2.82 lakh entries marked as 'dead', 22,918 electors are under 40 years of age. Among electors aged 85 and above who underwent additional verification, around 49,700, or 54.9%, were placed on the ASDD list, mostly categorized as permanently shifted or absent.
Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Ashok Kumar stated on Monday that voters whose names are missing can submit Form 6 to seek inclusion. He assured that no name would be eliminated from the final electoral roll without a proper inquiry and notice.
Voters can challenge the exclusions during the claims and objections period, which concludes on September 30. Booth-level agents are permitted to assist electors in submitting claims, capped at 40 forms per agent, and special camps will be organised to facilitate the process. A senior poll official noted that the department expects approximately half of those categorized as permanently shifted to be restored to the rolls during this revision window.
