Nearly 3 Crore Names Cut from UP Voter List
The political atmosphere in Uttar Pradesh reached a fever pitch today, January 6, 2026, as the Election Commission of India (ECI) officially released the draft electoral roll. The state’s Chief Electoral Officer, Navdeep Rinwa, revealed a staggering figure during a press conference in Lucknow: approximately 2.89 crore voters have been removed from the list. This massive cleanup is part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), an exercise aimed at purging the system of ineligible entries.
Out of the previous total of 15.44 crore registered voters, only 12.55 crore names remain in the new draft. This represents a deletion of nearly 18.7%, or roughly one in every five voters in the state. Officials explained that the deletions were necessary due to various factors discovered during door-to-door verification. Specifically, 46.23 lakh voters were found to be deceased, while a significant 2.17 crore individuals had either moved, were missing, or were absent from their registered addresses.
The cleanup also addressed 25.47 lakh duplicate entries where names appeared in multiple locations. While the sheer scale of the removal has caused shockwaves, the ECI emphasized that this is a draft list intended to ensure a “clean and robust” democracy. To accommodate the reorganization of voters, the government has also created over 15,000 new polling booths, capping the maximum number of voters per booth at 1,200 to improve administrative efficiency.
Voters who find their names missing from the draft list have a critical window to take action. The “Claims and Objections” period is open from today until February 6, 2026. Citizens can verify their status on the official portal by entering their EPIC number. If a name has been erroneously removed, the individual can file “Form 6” to be re-added. The final, verified electoral roll for Uttar Pradesh is scheduled to be published on March 6, 2026.
Opposition leaders have already begun raising concerns over the massive scale of these deletions, particularly in urban centers like Lucknow, where the count dropped by nearly 12 lakh. As the state moves toward future elections, the accuracy of this list remains a central point of political debate. The government urges all eligible residents to check their status immediately to ensure their right to vote is protected.
