Punjab SIR: Over 13 lakh names deleted

The names of 13.6 lakh persons were deleted from Punjab’s final voter list published on Monday following the special intensive revision of electoral rolls, The Hindu quoted the state Election Commission as saying.

The number of voters in the state fell to about 2.01 crore from 2.14 crore before the exercise began, The Times of India reported. This amounts to a decrease of about 6.3%.

The draft electoral roll published on August 13 had only 1.9 crore names on it. Punjab Chief Electoral Officer Anindita Mitra said that 35.4 lakh electors were issued notices during the verification process. Of these, more than 86,000 were marked ineligible.

The final rolls also include more than 7.9 lakh newly added voters, The New Indian Express reported.

Punjab is among the 19 states and Union Territories where the voter roll revision is being carried out in the third phase of SIR.

Political parties praise CEO

After the publication of the final rolls, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab, the Congress’ state unit, the Shiromani Akali Dal and the Bharatiya Janata Party praised Mitra for her handling of the voter roll revision exercise, reported The Indian Express.

“We discussed our points with the chief electoral officer at every meeting,” said Shiromani Akali Dal spokesperson Arshdeep Singh Kler. “She listened carefully to everything and made improvements wherever they were needed.”

Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson Ferry Sofat was...

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