728 of 729 voters dropped: Yamuna JJ cluster residents fight to get back on Delhi rolls
Residents of a Jhuggi Jhopri (JJ) cluster on the Yamuna floodplains are seeking the restoration of their names to Delhi's electoral roll after 728 of the 729 voters registered at a polling booth in the Bela Estate polling part of the Chandni Chowk Assembly constituency were left out of the draft roll.
The residents learnt weeks ago that their names would not figure in the draft electoral roll prepared under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), because their houses had been demolished in 2023 by a State authority. They have, however, continued to live at the same address in makeshift shanties and cast their votes in the 2024 and 2025 elections.
On Friday (September 18, 2026), polling officials visited the area to verify addresses during the ongoing claims and objections phase. Residents said the visit made them feel a step closer to having their names back on the roll.
Two days earlier, on Wednesday (September 16), 462 residents submitted Form 6 — the form meant for new voters and for those left out during enumeration. Of the 729 electors attached to the booth, 728 had been placed on the ASDD list, which records electors found to be absent, shifted, dead or duplicate.
Badrinath Jha, a resident, said officials visited the area in the afternoon and read out names from at least 10 to 15 Form 6 applications to verify that the applicants lived there. "Not everybody was present, because people had gone to their daily wage jobs. This is a fight to prove our existence and right to vote that everyone has. And we will win it," he said.
Kamal Lal, another resident who has been trying to meet officials and submit grievances, said 550 enumeration forms had been filled and handed over to the area Booth Level Officer (BLO). He said the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO), Manoj Kumar, had told the residents that although the enumeration forms had been submitted, their names would not appear in the draft roll because of the demolition action carried out by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) in 2023.
Mr. Lal, who has retrieved old electoral rolls dating back to 1962, said his great-grandfather's name appears on that roll, as it does on the rolls that followed. "All our names were on the 2025 electoral roll of Delhi when we were residing here. Where can we go?" he said.
He has kept photocopies of all 550 enumeration forms he filled before handing them over, and said he was hopeful that the Form 6 applications would be accepted and the names restored.
The residents submitted whatever documents they had as address proof — ration cards, gas connection cards, older electoral rolls, voter identity cards, Aadhaar and 2002 roll records for declaration forms. Since the shanties have no house numbers, the address given on every Form 6 application is "JJ cluster, Vijay Ghat, Delhi-06".
During the enumeration exercise, residents were asked for electricity or water bills as address proof for inclusion in the draft roll. "This will not cause a problem now, the officials have told us. They will come to verify that we live here," Mr. Lal said.
Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO) Sunil Kumar said, "We have not asked for specific documents. But we are verifying whatever they have submitted along with their Form 6 and doing field verification. We are also setting up camps."
Of the cluster's voters, only one name appeared on the draft roll, and that too as "unmapped". Mr. Lal said the person's form had been submitted along with the others, and that since he was not mapped to the previous SIR roll, he too is expected to receive a notice.
Under Election Commission rules, homeless persons — or those rendered homeless, whether they live on encroached or government land — who do not possess documentary proof of ordinary residence are eligible for enrolment in the electoral roll. In such cases, the BLO is required to verify residence in the field. The claims and objections phase of the revision is under way.
