Over 54,000 names removed from Sikkim electoral rolls after SIR exercise

Gangtok (Sikkim) [India], September 6 (ANI): The Election Commission has removed 54,209 names from Sikkim’s electoral rolls following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Electoral Rolls 2026, with the final electoral roll published on Sunday.
The comprehensive revision was conducted on September 6, as the final publication date, and on July 1, as the qualifying date.
According to the electoral roll data, 54,209 electors were excluded during the revision process, including 37,724 under the Absentee, Shifted, Dead and Duplicate (ASDD) categories and 16,485 found ineligible during hearings.
Of the ASDD exclusions, 10,837 electors were identified as deceased, 8,648 as absent or untraceable, 14,603 as permanently shifted, 2,396 as already enrolled or duplicate and 1,253 under other categories, taking the total ASDD figure to 37,737.
The enumeration process saw 4,71,018 forms distributed, of which 4,33,242, or 91.99 per cent, were received back. Forms for 37,737 electors, or 8.01 per cent, were not received and were categorised under Absentee, Shifted, Dead, and Duplicate (ASDD).
According to the press note, the draft electoral roll, published on July 5, had 4,33,294 electors, comprising 2,18,507 males, 2,14,785 females and two third-gender electors.
During the revision and verification process, 52,384 logical discrepancies were identified and 1,24,519 notices were issued to unmapped electors and those with logical discrepancies.
Between July 5 and August 4, a total of 2,052 claims were received through Form 6 for new inclusions, while 16,867 objections were filed through Form 7 for deletions. Another 1,549 claims were received through Form 8 for corrections or shifting.
Following the process, 1,982 electors were added and 16,809 were deleted. The deletions included 16,485 electors found ineligible during hearings and 324 deaths or shifts.
The final electoral roll published on September 6 has 4,18,467 electors, comprising 2,12,534 males, 2,05,931 females and two third-gender electors.
The final roll marks a net decrease of 14,827 electors, or 3.42 per cent, compared to the draft electoral roll.
The SIR exercise also resulted in an increase in the number of polling stations in the state. From 572 polling stations before the revision, 53 new polling stations were created, taking the final total to 625. 
Election officials confirmed that the multi-stage SIR exercise was executed to eliminate ghost entries and deliver an accurate, fully updated voting registry for future elections in the state. (ANI)