Uttar Pradesh panchayat polls: Over 12.58 crore to vote as final electoral rolls out
The SEC data showed that during a revision process spanning over six months, authorities added over 2.32 crore new voters to the electoral rolls, while delisting over 2.03 crore electors. In effect, the total electorate this year has risen by over 29 lakh.
The number of voters in last year’s draft electoral rolls was over 12.29 crore. The State Election Commission (SEC) has released the final electoral roll for the upcoming three-tier panchayat elections, with the total number of registered voters across the state’s rural local bodies rising to over 12.58 crore. The number of voters in last year’s draft electoral rolls was over 12.29 crore.
The SEC data showed that during a revision process spanning over six months, authorities added over 2.32 crore new voters to the electoral rolls, while delisting over 2.03 crore electors. In effect, the total electorate this year has risen by over 29 lakh.
The increase comes after the disposal of claims and objections and a fresh revision exercise carried out across all districts. Officials said the revised rolls have been finalised after incorporating additions, deletions and corrections received during the verification process.
Polling only after seat reservation
The release of the final voter list comes against the backdrop of the expiry of the tenure of elected Gram Pradhans on May 26, five years after the last panchayat elections were held in the state in 2021. While the electoral rolls have been finalised, the elections will only be held after the government completes the reservation exercise for rural local bodies.
For this purpose, the state government has constituted a commission headed by retired Allahabad High Court judge Justice Ram Autar Singh to examine the reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and recommend the distribution of reserved seats across Panchayati Raj institutions. The commission has been tasked with gathering empirical data on backward classes and preparing recommendations in line with the Supreme Court-mandated “triple test” framework for OBC reservation in local body elections.
The panel is expected to study the representation of backward classes at various levels of rural local bodies and submit its report to the government. Based on its recommendations, the state government will issue the reservation notification, after which the SEC is expected to announce the election schedule.
With the publication of the final electoral roll, one of the key prerequisites for the conduct of panchayat elections has been completed. The reservation exercise now remains the final major step before the polling process can begin for the election of Gram Pradhans, Gram Panchayat members, Kshetra Panchayat members and Zila Panchayat members across Uttar Pradesh.
SVIN voter IDs, colour-coded ballots
In a first for panchayat elections in Uttar Pradesh, every voter has been assigned a nine-digit unique State Voter Identification Number (SVIN), aimed at improving voter management and reducing duplication. Election officials said the first three digits of the number will indicate the voter’s development block, followed by a digit identifying the voter’s gender. The remaining five characters will comprise a unique alphanumeric code assigned to each elector.
Officials said the new identification system will help streamline voter verification, facilitate future revisions of electoral rolls, and enable easier tracking of voter records across rural local bodies.
The SEC has also finalised the colour coding of ballot papers to be used during polling. Green ballot papers will be used for the election of Gram Pradhans, blue for Kshetra Panchayat members, white for Gram Panchayat members, and pink for Zila Panchayat members.
UP rural local bodies polls 2026
- Total Voters: 12,58,51,570
- Voters in 2025*: 12,29,50,052
- Voters Added: 2,32,24,805
- Voters Deleted: 2,03,23,287
*Draft Electoral Rolls
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