Punjab's final voter count at 2.01 crore after SIR, down 13.60 lakh from pre-SIR figure

Punjab's final electoral roll, published on Monday following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), recorded 2.01 crore voters, a decline of more than 13.60 lakh, or 6.33%, from the 2.14 crore electors registered before the exercise began, according to the state's Chief Electoral Officer.

The final electorate stood at 2,01,00,727, compared with 2,14,61,043 registered voters as of June 9. However, the figure represented an increase of 7,06,292 electors, or 3.64%, over the draft electoral roll published on August 13, which had listed 1,93,94,435 voters.

Punjab Chief Electoral Officer Anindita Mitra said the revision was completed in accordance with the Election Commission of India's directions, with extensive verification, claims and objections, and field-level scrutiny undertaken across the state.

The reduction in the electorate compared with the pre-SIR figures was attributed to deaths, permanent relocation, absence of voters and duplicate entries.

𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝟮.𝟬𝟭 𝗰𝗿𝗼𝗿𝗲

According to the final electoral roll, Punjab now has 1,03,76,026 male voters, 97,24,195 female voters and 506 third-gender electors.

Before the revision, the state's electorate comprised 1,11,76,866 men, 1,02,83,478 women and 699 third-gender voters.

The SIR exercise began on June 25 after Punjab was included in Phase III of the Election Commission's 2026 revision programme.

"The electorate increased from 1,93,94,435 total electors in the draft roll to 2,01,00,727 in the final roll, representing a net increase of 3.64 per cent," Mitra said.

She added that 7,97,263 new electors were enrolled during the revision process.

The increase between the draft and final rolls followed the examination of applications and objections submitted during the designated verification period.

𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬 𝗹𝗮𝗸𝗵 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗱

During the house-to-house enumeration exercise conducted between June 25 and August 3, booth-level officers distributed and collected enumeration forms from registered electors across Punjab.

The draft electoral roll was subsequently published on August 13, listing 1,93,94,435 voters.

At that stage, 20,66,608 electors, accounting for 9.63% of the pre-revision electorate, had been categorised as absent, shifted, dead or duplicate (ASDD).

These categories formed the basis of the reduction reflected in the draft electoral roll.

Copies of the draft rolls were provided to representatives of political parties across the state to facilitate scrutiny and participation during the claims and objections process.

The Chief Electoral Officer said citizens were encouraged to verify their details and seek corrections or inclusion where necessary.

𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗺𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱

The claims and objections period ran from August 13 to September 12, during which electors could submit applications online through the ECINET mobile application or offline through booth-level officers and electoral registration officers.

Mitra said the state election machinery undertook extensive field verification and scrutiny of the applications received.

The Chief Electoral Officer, 19 roll observers and district election officers conducted field visits and supervisory checks to examine the claims and objections.

The subsequent notice and disposal phase continued until October 8, with notices issued to electors whose records could not be mapped or contained discrepancies.

According to the CEO, 35,49,036 electors were issued notices during the process.

Of these, 86,038 were declared ineligible following verification and the issuance of reasoned orders.

The election authorities maintained that the decisions were taken after examining the relevant records and completing the prescribed procedures.

𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱

As part of the revision exercise, the Election Commission also undertook rationalisation of polling stations across Punjab to improve voter accessibility.

The number of polling stations increased from 24,453 to 25,332, an addition of 879 polling locations.

Mitra said the changes were intended to make voting facilities more accessible and improve the distribution of electors among polling stations.

The state election machinery also implemented a month-long Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) campaign to raise awareness about the revision process.

Special camps were organised at polling booths on June 7, July 11 and 12, July 19 and August 16 to help electors verify their details and submit the necessary documents.

Additional enrolment camps were held in schools and colleges to encourage eligible young citizens to register as voters.

The Chief Electoral Officer said regular meetings were conducted with recognised political parties at the state and district levels to ensure their participation throughout the exercise.

𝗘𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘃𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆

Mitra maintained that every possible effort had been made to reach eligible voters during the revision.

She described the completion of the SIR as a coordinated exercise involving election officials, voters, political parties and other stakeholders.

"The SIR, 2026 was successfully completed in Punjab in a smooth, transparent and time-bound manner in accordance with the directions of the Election Commission of India," she said.

The Chief Electoral Officer also clarified that eligible citizens whose names were not included in the final electoral roll could still seek enrolment.

Such applicants, including newly eligible voters, can submit Form 6 through the ECINET application or approach their respective booth-level officers for offline registration.

The publication of the final roll concludes the scheduled revision process, although applications for inclusion will continue to be accepted under the prescribed electoral procedures.

The exercise has resulted in a substantially smaller electorate than the pre-SIR figure, even after the addition of more than 7.97 lakh new voters during the revision.