In a significant step towards refining the voter database, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday released the draft electoral rolls for Madhya Pradesh. The rolls, now available for public scrutiny on the official website of the state’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), mark the beginning of a crucial revision process ahead of future elections.
The draft rolls have been uploaded to the MP CEO website, with a direct link accessible on the homepage. Citizens are required to enter relevant details to access and verify the voter lists pertaining to their constituencies.
The data reveals a substantial clean-up of the electoral roll. Out of a total of 5,74,06,143 voters in the state, verification forms were received from 5,31,31,983 individuals. Following this exercise, a total of 42,74,160 voter names have been removed from the draft list. This includes 19.19 lakh men and 23.64 lakh women. Additionally, 8.40 lakh entries have been flagged as "not mapped," indicating a need for further geographical or administrative verification.
Chief Electoral Officer Sanjeev Kumar Jha provided a detailed breakdown of the reasons for exclusion:
Shifted and Absent Voters: 31.51 lakh (5.49% of the total list) – individuals who have moved or were not found at the given address.
Deceased Voters: 8.46 lakh (1.47%) – removed from the rolls.
Duplicate Entries: 2.77 lakh (0.48%) – voters found enrolled in more than one place.
A closer look at the capital city, Bhopal, shows a rigorous revision process. Collector Kaushalendra Vikram Singh, releasing the draft list under the Special Summary Revision (SSR), stated that the number of voters in the city has been reduced from 21,25,908 to 16,87,033—a removal of 4,38,875 names.
The assembly constituencies of Govindpura and Narela witnessed the highest number of deletions, with 97,052 and 81,235 names removed, respectively. Other significant exclusions were noted in Central (67,304), South-West (63,432), Huzur (65,891), North (51,058), and Bairasia (12,903) constituencies.
CEO Sanjeev Kumar Jha emphasized that this is a draft publication, initiating a democratic correction window. The process for filing claims and objections will remain open until January 22, 2026. Eligible citizens who find their names missing, or have corrections to suggest, can apply for inclusion or amendment during this period. The final electoral roll will be published on February 21, 2026.
Madhya Pradesh is part of a nationwide electoral roll revision cycle. The ECI also released draft rolls on Tuesday for Kerala, Chhattisgarh, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Reports suggest that Chhattisgarh might also see exclusions running into millions.
This follows the recent publication of draft rolls for seven other states and union territories—West Bengal, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Goa, Lakshadweep, and Puducherry—where a staggering cumulative total of over 2.7 crore (27 million) names were removed. Tamil Nadu led with 97 lakh exclusions, followed by Gujarat (73 lakh) and West Bengal (58 lakh).
The release of the draft rolls underscores the Election Commission's ongoing commitment to maintaining accurate and updated voter lists, which are the bedrock of free and fair elections. The removal of over 42 lakh entries in Madhya Pradesh highlights the scale of the effort to eliminate duplicates, deceased voters, and shifted electors. Citizens are now urged to actively participate in this process by verifying their details and utilizing the claims and objections period to ensure no legitimate voter is left out in the final list.
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