New Delhi, Dec 23 (IANS) After more than one-and-a-half month of door-to-door Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Madhya Pradesh, the Election Commission of India (ECI) will release the draft electoral roll of voters for the state on Tuesday.

The official sources in the Chief Electoral Office (CEO) in Madhya Pradesh told IANS that, preliminary assessment suggesting that the names of nearly 41.8 lakh voters, that is, about 7.2 per cent of the electorate, are likely to be deleted from the SIR.

According to official sources, preliminary data show that, of the 41.8 lakh names flagged, 8.4 lakh voters were found dead, another 8.4 lakh were marked absent, 22.5 lakh had shifted to other locations and 2.5 lakh were registered at multiple addresses.

In Bhopal, where there are 21.25 lakh registered voters, about 4.3 lakh names — 20.23 per cent are likely to be dropped in the draft electoral rolls.

While in Indore, with 28.67 lakh voters, saw 4.4 lakh names flagged; Gwalior may lose 2.5 lakh names of its 16.49 lakh electorate; and Jabalpur could lose 2.4 lakh names from 19.25 lakh.

However, all these numbers are a just assessment, and the exact number of voters deleted would be known only after the final electoral draft is published by the ECI on Tuesday, an official added.

The ECI has extended the schedule of the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls in five states: Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh and the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, against December 11.

More than 65,000 BLOs (Booth Level Officers) were tasked with conducting a door-to-door visit for verification of voters from November 4, while more than 6.65 crore voters were enrolled in 2023 in Madhya Pradesh.

Madhya Pradesh has a total of 230 Assembly seats and 29 Lok Sabha constituencies spread across the 55 districts, divided into 10 divisions such as Bhopal, Gwalior, Indore, Jabalpur, Chambal, Narmadapuram, Rewa, Sagar, Shahdol, and Ujjain.

More than 65,000 booth-level officers (BLOs) visited households across cities, towns and villages to verify voter details since November 4, the SIR excercise had begun in the state.

Notably, during the entire SIR excercise, the principal opposition Congress in Madhya Pradesh kept opposing the ECI’s steps and criticised it levelling political allegations.

On Monday, a delegation of state Congress workers visited the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) in Bhopal, alleging irregularities in the SIR exercise.

–IANS

rs/