Draft electoral rolls for SSR published in 13 states, 3 UTs; UP to release on Nov 17

Draft electoral rolls were published on Thursday in 16 states and Union territories as part of the Election Commission of India (ECI)’s Special Summary Revision (SSR) 2027, marking the start of a month-long window for claims and objections.Originally slated for 17 states and UTs with January 1, 2027, as the qualifying date, Thursday’s rollout covers 13 states —Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, West Bengal —and three UTs —Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep and Puducherry — after Uttar Pradesh deferred its draft publication by five days to November 17.Voters across these regions have until December 11, 2026, to submit claims and objections ahead of the final roll publication on January 4, 2027.

The window for UP voters will now run until December 16.The qualifying date is the cut-off by which a person must have turned 18 to be eligible for enrolment in a given revision.Also Read | Delhi SIR: Form 6 applications cross 3L-mark after draft roll excludes 47.5 lakh votersThe draft rolls published on Thursday show modest net additions to rolls that were pruned heavily during the SIR.In Kerala, the draft roll has 27,360,254 names, against 26,953,644 in the final post-SIR roll, a rise of about 0.4 million.

The state had 27.8 million voters before the SIR began.In Manipur, the draft list has 1,994,357 electors, about 33,700 more than after the SIR, which deleted 0.189 million names and added 56,871. In Goa, around 43,000 voters were added and at least 11,000 deleted. Assam, where a Special Revision was held instead of the SIR, recorded a net increase of 218,771 electors, taking the roll to about 25.2 million, including 287,233 electors aged 18-19.

Rajasthan’s draft roll has 52,667,416 registered voters.Tamil Nadu is still well below its pre-SIR strength. It had 64.1 million voters before the SIR. This number dropped to 56.7 million electors when the post-SIR rolls were published. As per the draft SSR rolls published on Thursday, the state has 57.7 million electors.Also Read | EC announces SSR in 4 states and 2 UTs; draft rolls on Nov 30In Bihar, the draft roll lists 75.5 million electors.

This is about 1.3 million more than the post SIR number of 74.2 million electors.Thursday’s publication marks the formal opening of the public revision phase under SSR 2027, the first routine roll update in most of these states since the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).A senior ECI official told HT, “This is in line with the ECI notification issued on October 15. SSR is a routine process and the exercise will proceed as usual and in accordance with the Representation of the People Act (1950).”The SSR, which is an annual exercise, uses the existing roll as its starting point, generally carrying forward existing voters’ names to the draft roll.

The exercise will be carried out in every state after the SIR is completed.First-time voters can fill Form 6 to get included in the voter list. Advance applications will also open for those turning 18 on April 1, July 1 or October 1, 2027.Also Read | EC gives fresh chance to voters excluded from draft SIR rolls in Delhi, Maharashtra, 5 other statesUnder the SSR, officials start with the existing roll, publish a draft and invite claims and objections.Booth-level officers verify new applications, and EROs decide on them before the final roll is published.

In the SIR, however, electors are largely asked to fill enumeration forms and the roll is rebuilt from those forms, requiring voters to establish their eligibility.