Arunachal Pradesh Voter List Drops 19% in Revision, 1.9 Lakh Removed
The Election Commission of India published the draft electoral roll for Arunachal Pradesh on Tuesday, revealing a nearly one-fifth reduction in the state's electorate following a special intensive revision (SIR) exercise. Only 80.9% of electors in the border state submitted their enumeration forms, resulting in the removal of 19.1% — approximately 1.9 lakh voters — who were marked as permanently shifted, absent, dead, or enrolled at more than one place.
The draft roll lists a total of 7.18 lakh electors, down from 8.9 lakh recorded on June 2, 2026, when SIR Phase 3 was announced. Among the deletions, 78,980 electors (8.9%) were marked as permanently shifted, 54,678 (6.2%) as absent or untraceable, 25,573 (2.9%) as deceased, and 5,281 (0.6%) as others, including those unwilling to be enrolled for various reasons.
Officials emphasized that the revision is a standard procedure to clean electoral rolls and ensure accuracy. The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Arunachal Pradesh stated that genuine electors who were removed can be reinstated during the claims and objections period, which runs from July 21 to August 20. All claims and objections will be resolved by September 18, and the final electoral roll will be published on September 22.
Arunachal Pradesh, which shares a long border with China, has a total population of approximately 1.4 million as per the 2011 census. The reduction in voter numbers does not necessarily indicate a loss of citizenship but reflects administrative updates to remove duplicate or ineligible entries. The process is part of the Election Commission's mandate to maintain accurate and up-to-date voter lists, a cornerstone of democratic elections.
Voters who believe they were wrongly removed are encouraged to file claims within the stipulated period. The Election Commission has made arrangements for online and offline submissions to facilitate the process.
