More than half of the 2.07 crore Maharashtra voters unlikely to figure in the draft electoral roll are marked either dead or permanently shifted, according to a detailed breakup released by the Chief Electoral Officer’s office.
The largest single group, 76.80 lakh voters, were absent or could not be found when officials visited their addresses during the house-to-house exercise under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Another 75.52 lakh were marked as permanently shifted and 34.81 lakh as dead. A further 17.63 lakh have been categorised as duplicate or already enrolled elsewhere, and 2.23 lakh fall under “Others”, which includes voters who received Enumeration Forms but did not return them after filling them.
Together, the 2.07 crore voters in what the commission calls the “Uncollectable Enumeration Forms” category account for 21.15 per cent of Maharashtra’s 9.78 crore electorate, or more than one in five. The enumeration ran from June 30 to 5 pm on August 17, with the deadline extended twice. Over that period, 7.71 crore voters, or 78.85 per cent of the electorate, submitted filled and signed forms.
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This is the first detailed picture of who is likely to be left out when the draft roll is published on August 24.
Not a permanent deletion
Officials stressed that the 2.07 crore figure is not the number of voters who will be removed from the rolls. It is the number currently placed in the Uncollectable EF category after the house-to-house exercise and before the claims, objections and verification process.
“This is not permanent deletion from the electoral roll. The August 24 list is a draft, and being left out of it does not mean that an eligible voter has permanently lost the right to vote. Voters should check the draft roll on August 24. Those whose names are missing will have one month, from August 24 to September 23, to seek inclusion or correction. Eligible persons can apply for inclusion as voters during this period,” said an official.
An enumeration form is used to verify the details of an existing voter. Booth Level Officers (BLOs) visited households with pre-filled forms and collected them for verification and digitisation. A form recorded as uncollectable does not by itself mean the voter is dead, has shifted, is a duplicate or is ineligible. The voter may have moved, may not have been at the address when the BLO called, or may not have been traced there.
Where the gaps are concentrated
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Figures released on the final day of enumeration, when the statewide total stood at 2.08 crore, showed the problem concentrated in the largest urban districts.
Forms for 94.47 lakh voters in Thane, Mumbai City, Mumbai Suburban and Pune accounted for 45.4 per cent of all uncollected forms, although the four districts hold only about 27.5 per cent of the state’s electorate.
Thane had the highest share, with forms for 28.88 lakh of its 74.51 lakh voters, or 38.77 per cent, uncollected. Mumbai City had 9.60 lakh, or 37.57 per cent, Mumbai Suburban 26.99 lakh, or 34.48 per cent, and Pune 28.99 lakh, or 31.92 per cent.
The numbers were also high in Nagpur, at 14.06 lakh or 30.32 per cent, Palghar at 6.87 lakh or 28.88 per cent, and Raigad at 5.91 lakh or 23.33 per cent. Together, these seven districts accounted for about 1.21 crore, or 58.3 per cent, of the total, while holding about 37 per cent of the electorate.
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Rural districts showed the opposite pattern. Forms for 8.82 per cent of voters remained uncollected in Hingoli, 9.10 per cent in Buldhana, 9.93 per cent in Ratnagiri and 10.62 per cent in Latur. In Thane, forms for nearly four in 10 voters could not be collected. In Hingoli, it was fewer than one in 10.
Officials have cited migration and changes of address among the reasons for the high urban figures. In Mumbai, Thane and Pune, frequent movement between residences can make it difficult for BLOs to find electors at the addresses recorded in the roll, they said.
What happens next
The CEO’s office has published provisional lists of voters in the Uncollectable EF category on the websites of the respective district collectors. Political parties have been asked to verify these lists through their booth level agents (BLAs) and flag cases where voters listed as uncollectable are still eligible. Such cases will then be checked by BLOs, who will collect the required Enumeration Form if the voter is found eligible.
Once the draft roll is published, lists of voters whose names are not included will also be displayed on the notice boards of the government offices concerned and on the websites of district election officers and the Chief Electoral Officer.
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Voters left out will have a month, from August 24 to September 23, to file claims and objections. Applications will be examined by the Electoral Registration Officer, after which eligible voters will be included in the final roll, to be published on October 27.
How to apply
A voter can seek inclusion by submitting Form 6 along with the required declaration and supporting documents. Form 8 is used to correct an existing entry. Any voter in the constituency can object to the inclusion of a name through Form 7.
The same window is available to those turning 18 on or before October 1, 2026, who can apply through Form 6.
The CEO’s office has warned that anyone making a false declaration while seeking inclusion, correction or deletion of a name can face imprisonment of up to one year, a fine, or both, under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.
