The total number of registered voters across nine states and Union territories has dropped by over 1.70 crore. This follows the release of the final electoral rolls under the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR), states the official data shared by the chief electoral officers.
The data of Gujarat, Puducherry, Lakshadweep, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Goa, and Kerala on Saturday showed that their combined number of voters stood at over 21.45 crore before the SIR exercise began on October 27 last year. This number decreased to 19.75 crore after the publication of their final electoral rolls this week, marking a net change of over 1.70 crore electors.
While the exercise, which kept the Election Commission of India in the spotlight, has been completed in Bihar, it is currently underway in 12 states and Union territories covering nearly 60 crore electors.
As in Bihar, political parties have approached the Supreme Court challenging the exercise in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
The remaining 40 crore electors will be covered in 17 states and five Union territories.
In Assam, a "special revision", instead of SIR, was completed on February 10.
Due to a variety of reasons, the SIR in the nine states and three Union territories have seen frequent tweaking in schedules.