The deadline for citizens to submit their claims and objections to the draft list was earlier fixed as January 18, 2026, but was later extended to January 30, by the Election Commission of India (ECI). (File Photo)
DURING THE Special Intensive Revision (SIR) campaign of the Electoral Roll in Gujarat, the State Election Commission received a total of 14,70,125 lakh forms (6, 7 and 8) from voters in the state.
Of these, 7,25,920 were Form 6 (application for inclusion of name in the electoral roll); 1,83,235 were Form 7 (application for objecting inclusion or seeking deletion of name in electoral roll); while 5,60,970 were Form 8 (application for correction to particulars entered in electoral roll, application for transposition of entry in electoral roll, application for Issue of replacement of EPIC/Marking of PWD)
The Draft Electoral Roll was published on December 19, 2025, after the counting phase of the SIR was completed. The process had begun on October 27, 2025. The deadline for citizens to submit their claims and objections to the draft list was earlier fixed as January 18, 2026, but was later extended to January 30, by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
The highest number of total forms were received in Ahmedabad (2.16 lakh), followed by Surat (1.31 lakh), Anand (78,790), Rajkot (72,149), Bhavnagar (63,116), Vadodara (58,822), Kutch (54,221), Kheda (53,679), Gandhinagar (50,849), and Banaskantha (47,066).
The curious case of Anand
In Anand, which saw more forms being submitted than even other districts with major cities, the number of Form-7 (objecting inclusion or seeking deletion) was highest in Gujarat at 40,607. This was even more than Form-7 numbers in Ahmedabad (34,008).
To put this in perspective, the number of just Form-7 in Anand was more than the total number of all forms in 19 other districts of Gujarat. Further, Anand is the only district in Gujarat where the number of Form-7 exceeds both – Form-6 and Form-8.
Meanwhile, a BJP corporator from the Junagadh Municipal Corporation (JuMC), Sanjay Manvara, earlier filed an objection through Form 7 under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise before the Election Commission on January 13 raising an objection to the inclusion of the name of Haji Rathod and his family in the electoral rolls citing “absent/permanently shifted” on the form as the reason.
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The 74-year-old dholak artiste, referred to by many as Mir Hajibhai Kasambhai, is also known as ‘Haji Ramakdu’ and ‘Haji Rathod’, received the nation’s third highest civilian award Padma Shri in the honour rolls of Republic Day 2026. Kasambhai was then felicitated by CM Bhupendra Patel at a function in Junagadh and later also met Sanjay Manvara.
‘Forms to be disposed of by Feb 10’
A statement issued on Saturday said, “The purpose given by the Election Commission of India is to ensure that ‘no eligible voter is excluded, and no ineligible voter is included’ in the electoral rolls. The Voter Registration Officers will verify all these forms and dispose of them by February 10.”
It further said, “If, for any reason, any citizen of the state has missed filling or submitting the form or has not been able to join the entire process of special intensive revision of the voter list, then in the coming time, under continuous revision, they will be able to fill the forms.”
Brendan Dabhi works with The Indian Express, focusing his comprehensive reporting primarily on Gujarat. He covers the region's most critical social, legal, and administrative sectors, notably specializing at the intersection of health, social justice, and disasters.
Expertise
Health and Public Policy: He has deep expertise in healthcare issues, including rare diseases, Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), the complex logistics of organ transplants, and public health challenges like drug-resistant TB and heat health surveillance. His on-ground reporting during the COVID-19 pandemic and Mucormycosis was critical in exposing healthcare challenges faced by marginalized communities in Gujarat.
Social Justice and Legal Administration: He reports on the functioning of the legal and police system, including the impact of judicial philosophy, forensics and crucial administrative reforms (. He covers major surveillance and crackdown exercises by the Gujarat police and security on the international border.
Disaster and Crisis Management: His work closely tracks how government and civic bodies respond to large-scale crises, providing essential coverage on the human and administrative fallout of disasters including cyclones, floods, conflict, major fires and reported extensively on the AI 171 crash in Ahmedabad.
Civic Infrastructure and Governance: Provides timely reports on critical civic failures, including large scale infrastructure projects by the railways and civic bodies, as well as the enforcement of municipal regulations and their impact on residents and heritage. ... Read More
