4.76 million names dropped from Delhi voter rolls, but just 250,000 Form 6 applications filed

Delhi began a special intensive revision of its electoral rolls on June 30. The roll contained 14.5 million electors, but the draft published on August 31 removed nearly 4.76 million names. This matters because anyone missing from the draft must take steps to return before the final roll is published.

The deleted names were placed in four categories: absent, shifted, dead or duplicate, known together as ASDD. Officials also flagged about 3.3 million people who lacked a link to the 2002 base roll or had logical discrepancies. By October 22, around 2.95 million of those cases had been resolved.

The CEO’s office said resolved voters will enter the final roll unless someone files a Form 7 objection. Booth-level officers are also visiting localities to check people missing from the draft and help eligible residents submit Form 6 applications. The final roll is scheduled for December 4.

Form 6 is the statutory application under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, for inclusion in an electoral roll. It is normally used by a person seeking registration as an elector. Its importance grew in Delhi because millions of names were missing from the special revision’s draft roll.

The Election Commission urged people deleted by the revision to submit Form 6 even though the form is generally described as an application for inclusion. A person who believes they remain eligible can use it to request that their name be added again. The article also notes that nearly half of fresh applications came from first-time voters.

Applications can be filed during the claims and objections period, which closes on October 30. Officials will dispose of all applications by November 30, before publishing the final roll on December 4. Booth-level officers are helping eligible residents enrol wherever they currently live.

Delhi received 250,754 Form 6 applications between August 31, when the draft roll was published, and October 22. The figure includes new electors and people whose names were deleted during the special intensive revision. It is strikingly smaller than the 4.76 million names removed from the draft.

The post-draft applications equal roughly 5.3% of the deleted names, or about one application for every 19 deletions. Before the draft appeared, officials had already received another 212,400 Form 6 applications. After special camps began on September 20, 158,470 applications were received through October 22.

Officials said they had held about 89,000 special camps, yet application numbers remained low. The CEO’s office will process every application by November 30. The claims and objections window closes October 30, and the final electoral roll is due on December 4.

The ASDD categories describe names considered absent from verification, shifted to another area, belonging to deceased people, or duplicated elsewhere. They are used to organise the draft roll’s deletions. A name marked shifted, for example, may need to be registered at the person’s current residence rather than an old address.

The article describes several checks. Officials resolved logical discrepancies and reviewed whether people had a link to the 2002 base roll. Booth-level officers visited localities to determine the status of people missing from the draft. If eligible, those residents could submit Form 6. Form 7 could be filed to object to someone’s inclusion or seek removal.

About 2.95 million of 3.3 million flagged cases had been resolved by October 22. Those resolved names will be included in the final roll unless a Form 7 objection is made. All claims and objections will be decided by November 30.

A voter missing from the draft roll is not automatically restored simply because they are eligible. The article says the claims and objections process is the route for seeking inclusion, and the Election Commission specifically asked people deleted during the revision to submit Form 6.

If an eligible person does not file Form 6 by October 30, officials may not receive a formal request to add that person back before the final roll is prepared. Booth-level officers are separately visiting localities to find missing residents and facilitate applications wherever they are eligible. That outreach may help, but the article identifies Form 6 as the prescribed application.

The CEO’s office said all claims and objections will be disposed of by November 30. The final roll is scheduled for publication on December 4. A person who remains absent could therefore be left out of the published roll and need a later enrolment process, although the article does not describe that later process.

Booth-level officers, or BLOs, provide the local verification described in the article. They visit neighbourhoods to determine what happened to people who appeared on the pre-revision roll but were missing from the draft. When eligible residents are found, BLOs help facilitate Form 6 enrolment.

District election officials handle local roll preparation and case review. They identified shifted residents, examined logical discrepancies and helped resolve flagged cases. A New Delhi poll official said names were removed after people moved to places such as Gurugram or their native towns, with advice to enrol where they currently live.

The Election Commission announced special camps nationwide and urged deleted voters to use Form 6. In Delhi, the first camp was held on September 20, followed by roughly 89,000 camps. The CEO’s office tracks applications and deadlines, while officials must dispose of claims and objections before the final roll is published.

Electoral rolls must be revised because people die, move, appear more than once, or become eligible to vote. The Delhi exercise shows why current records matter: officials removed names in absent, shifted, dead and duplicate categories, while also accepting applications from new electors and people seeking restoration.

Accurate registration depends on checking each entry against available records and local information. In Delhi, officials reviewed links to the 2002 base roll, investigated logical discrepancies and sent booth-level officers into localities. Eligible people can seek inclusion through Form 6, while Form 7 allows objections to entries or requests for removal.

A reliable roll supports the principle of one person, one vote by reducing the risk of duplicate entries and ensuring eligible residents are not wrongly excluded. The current process will determine which cases remain in the final roll, scheduled for December 4. The article reports that 2.95 million flagged cases were already resolved.