Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand Chief Election Officer has announced a three-day special camp from October 8 to October 10 at every polling station. The goal is to add new voters and people who were eligible but were left out of the voter list during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.

During the camp, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will compare the current voter list with the pre-SIR list. They will find people whose names were there before but are missing now. Then, they will make a list of these voters. BLOs will also make sure Form 6 is filled out for new or young voters during their house visits.

Voter list numbers

Before the SIR process started, Uttarakhand had 84,29,459 electors. After the SIR, the total is now 71,58,949. Between January 2025 and August 2026, 4,34,620 voters were added while 17,05,130 names were deleted.

This decision came after opposition parties criticized the deletion of a large number of names during the SIR. Chief Electoral Officer B. V. R. C. Purushottam said BLOs will share the list of left out voters with booth-level agents (BLAs) of recognised political parties.

Uttarakhand's voter list has shrunk sharply. After the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), the state now has 71,58,949 registered voters. That's down from 84,29,459 in the list released on 6 January 2025.

The numbers are stark. A total of 17,05,130 names were deleted and 4,01,276 new names added between 1 January 2025 and 3 October 2026. Of the deletions, 7,73,445 were removed during pre-SIR work that ran till 20 May 2026. During SIR itself, 8,26,977 voters were marked under the ASDD category and 1,04,708 as ineligible. Meanwhile, 1,29,872 voters were added.

Congress has repeatedly questioned the exercise. Honestly, a drop this big deserves close scrutiny.

What voters should do now

The Election Commission of India has directed the Chief Electoral Officer in Uttarakhand to run a special campaign from 8 to 10 October. Three-day camps will be set up at all polling booths. Booth Level Officers will go door to door, find left-out voters and fill Form 6 on the spot for inclusion.

CEO Dr BVRC Purushottam said deleted names will also be matched against the pre-SIR list and the current list during the drive. Officials expect a large number of names to be added over the next month.

If your name is missing, visit your nearest booth camp between 8 and 10 October and get Form 6 filled.

Pradesh Congress Committee leader Ganesh Godiyal has written a strong letter to Election Commission, raising serious objections over how voter names are being deleted during Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Godiyal's concern goes beyond whether individual deletions are right or wrong. He is questioning the legality of the entire process itself. Under Electoral Registration Rules, 1960, only a person whose name appears on electoral roll has the right to file an objection using Form VII. Election officials like EROs and AEROs cannot act as objectors themselves.

Here is what happened. During pre-SIR, names of 4,53,459 voters were removed from voter lists, and Form VII was automatically generated in every single case. The draft electoral roll came out on July 14, 2026, showing about 71.33 lakh voters. Out of these, 24,30,387 individuals were flagged for discrepancies, mostly because their records did not match the 2003 voter list.

Notices were sent to these people asking them to prove eligibility and submit documents. For 97,186 voters who failed to submit records, Form VII was auto-generated. EROs and AEROs filed the objections, and summary action followed, removing those names from the roll.

Godiyal Demands Immediate Review

Godiyal has demanded an immediate review of all such deletions. He argues that if election officials themselves generated the Form VII objections, the entire basis for removing those 97,186 names becomes questionable. This matters a lot for voters who may have lost their place on the list without a fair chance to respond.

Uttarakhand's final voter list, published on 3 October 2026, shows a big drop in registered voters after the special intensive revision or SIR. Around 9 lakh names were removed from the rolls, bringing the total down to 71.5 lakh from 79.6 lakh before the exercise began. That is a decline of about 10.1 percent.

Chief Electoral Officer BVRC Purushottam confirmed that the final roll also includes 1.2 lakh newly enrolled voters. Compared with the draft roll published in July, the elector count actually rose by roughly 25,000. How? Because 1,04,708 names were deleted after claims and objections, while more than 1.29 lakh fresh names were added.

The state accepted claims and objections until 13 August. Hearings and case disposal continued until 28 September before the final roll was published on 3 October.

Third phase rollout

Uttarakhand sits among 19 states and Union Territories where the SIR is running in its third phase. The first phase covered Bihar in 2025, and the second phase later spread to 12 more states and UTs. Since the rollout began, serious concerns have been raised about whether genuine voters are being wiped from the rolls.

Key court and phase updates are covered in reports from The Hindu and the Election Commission's third phase announcement.

Final voter list for Uttarakhand is out. The numbers are striking. Chief electoral officer B.V.R.C. Purushottam said 9,31,685 voters were removed from the rolls after the special intensive revision (SIR) that began on June 8.

Uttarakhand had 79,60,762 voters when the process started. The draft list of July 14 had 71,33,785 names, which dropped to 70,29,077 after the SIR. Objections were accepted till August 13. The final list published on October 3 has 71,58,949 electors. That includes 1,29,872 new names added during the revision.

Missing from the list?

You can still apply for inclusion using Form 6, the CEO said.

Congress is not convinced. State Congress secretary Amendra Bisht claimed loyal party voters were removed. He also flagged misuse of Form 7, the form used to seek deletion of a voter. Several people from Bareilly, Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi told him over phone that they never filed any Form 7. They also said they have no link with Uttarakhand. State party president Ganesh Godiyal put it bluntly: genuine names removed, fake ones added.

Check your name in the final list before the next election cycle. If your name is missing, file Form 6 without delay.

Uttarakhand's final voter list was published on 3 October 2026 after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). It shows about 71.58 lakh voters. That is nearly 8 lakh fewer than the 79.6 lakh recorded when the process started on 8 June.

Congress has disputed the number. Party leaders say the count dropped by around 14 lakh, pointing to a January 2025 baseline of 85.19 lakh electors. The Chief Electoral Officer's office, however, put the starting number at 79.6 lakh.

How the numbers changed

A draft roll was published on 14 July with about 71.33 lakh voters. Citizens had until 13 August to file claims and objections. Those were processed up to 28 September. During this period, 1,29,872 eligible voters were added and 1,04,708 names were removed.

The final list has 37.37 lakh male voters, 34.21 lakh female voters, and 212 third-gender voters. First-time voters in the 18-19 age group make up 72,656 entries. Another 1,22,892 voters are above 80 years of age.

Your name missing from the list? You can still apply. The CEO's office says affected voters may fill Form 6 either online through the ECI-Net app or offline by visiting their Booth Level Officer. Special camps will be organised, and BLOs will go home to home.

Officials will also compare the current roll with the pre-SIR list to spot voters whose names are gone. If someone is eligible, they will be helped to get their name back. Booth-level agents and political party representatives will get a list of such voters for a final check.

The qualifying date for this revision was 1 July 2026.

Congress has raised a serious concern in Uttarakhand. The party says more than 13 lakh voters were removed from the voter list during the pre-SIR and SIR process in the state. That is a big number, and people are now asking questions.

At Congress Bhawan in Dehradun, Uttarakhand Congress vice president Suryakant Dhasmana said the Election Commission should release assembly constituency wise data of all deleted voters. He called the deletions a plan to steal votes. Dhasmana also asked that all removed names be added back to the voter list right away.

Manoj Rawat, head of the SIR committee of Uttarakhand Congress, shared some key figures. In January 2025, the state had 84,29,459 voters. By June 2026, after pre-SIR work, that number fell to 79,60,762. The final voter list released after SIR showed only 71,58,949 voters. So about 13 lakh names simply dropped off the list.

Questions Over SIR Process

Dhasmana also said that after problems in Form VI and VII came up, the ECI changed its stand. In his view, this puts doubt on the entire SIR exercise. Voters in Uttarakhand should check their names on the voter list and raise objections if they find any problems.

Qazi Nizamuddin, AICC General Secretary and Manglaur MLA, has raised serious concerns about what he says is deliberate interference in the election process. Speaking at a press conference at Congress Bhawan in Dehradun, he claimed that irregularities in the electoral roll revision are part of a targeted plan to delete voter names.

Nizamuddin pointed out that media reports suggest the power to add names in electoral rolls, which normally rests with the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO), has been handed over to the Election Commission in Delhi. He questioned the intention behind this move and raised doubts about how the State government is handling elections.

Claims about irregularities at every level

Referencing Rahul Gandhi, Nizamuddin said the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha has pointed out Election Commission irregularities on multiple occasions. Recent media reports have backed those claims. He alleged the problem exists at every level, from the ECI to the State Election Commission in Uttarakhand. It even extends to student union elections.

Uttarakhand Congress Vice President Suryakant Dhasmana, State General Secretary Rajendra Shah, spokesperson Pratima Singh and social media committee head Abhinav Thapar were present at the event with him.

Uttarakhand BJP chief spokesman Suresh Joshi has responded to Congress leader Yashpal Arya's criticism of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voters list. Joshi says the Congress is not actually concerned about clean voter rolls. It is panicking because it is losing ground.

The SIR is a straightforward constitutional process run by Election Commission of India. Its purpose is simple. Make sure every eligible citizen can vote, and remove duplicate or ineligible names. Joshi asked a direct question. If Congress truly cares about clean elections, why is it opposing the removal of fake names from the list?

"All have the right to ask questions in a democracy, but questioning the credibility of independent and constitutional institutions just for political gains is not in line with democratic decorum," Joshi said.

He also challenged Arya to present hard proof of any mischief in the voters list. Making statements without evidence will not cut it, he added. BJP believes that whenever election results go against Congress, the party blames Election Commission and the voters list.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami's government stands firm on protecting the voting rights of every eligible citizen in Uttarakhand, Joshi said.

Uttarakhand Leader of Opposition Yashpal Arya has raised serious concerns over internal differences within Election Commission of India and questions surrounding its functioning. He wants a clear and institutional response to doubts about the Commission's independence and impartiality.

The main point Arya is making is about voter list accountability. Congress party wants complete data on every major change in the voter list to be made public. Voters whose names get removed from the rolls should be told directly and given a fair chance to appeal. Makes sense, honestly.

What Arya is demanding

Arya also pushed for voter list and related data to be shared with political parties in a simple and useful format. Where evidence of serious problems in electoral rolls or the election process comes up, he called for an independent and timely investigation. Clear decisions about the election process, he stressed, are very important.

At the core, Arya said every voter in India must feel confident that their vote is safe and their voice will be fully heard in the democratic process. Congress, he added, wants every serious question about the independence and credibility of electoral institutions to be looked into impartially.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has backed the Election Commission of India over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, saying the Opposition is spreading false stories to confuse voters.

Speaking at a press conference in Dehradun, Dhami said the Opposition always creates confusion whenever the ECI takes up important work. He did not name anyone directly, but his comments were clearly about Congress and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi.

"A leader of a certain party, along with other leaders, has tried to create a narrative that confuses people. This is not happening for the first time," Dhami said.

He also pointed to the ECI's recent press statement, which said that internal objections within the Commission should not be treated as internal disagreements. Dhami agreed and said it would be wrong to do that.

On the ground, the ECI has told Booth Level Officers to visit the homes of voters whose names are unmapped or have logical gaps. These voters will not be called to any ECI office, so there is no trouble for the public.

Help desks and special desks will also be set up for people living in night shelters. This way, homeless and transient individuals can be added to the voter list without any hassle.

Dhami made it clear that the SIR process is not meant to remove any eligible voter. "The goal is to keep the electoral roll clean and updated," he said.

Uttarakhand Congress held a big protest in Dehradun on Friday. Protesters surrounded the Election Commission office and demanded that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar resign.

Senior leaders like Ganesh Godiyal, Kumari Selja, Yashpal Arya, and Harish Rawat took part. The protest was part of a nationwide programme called by All-India Congress Committee.

What Happened During the Protest

Protesters marched from Pradesh Congress office to the Secretariat. They raised slogans and burnt an effigy of the Chief Election Commissioner. A memorandum was also submitted to President of India. It demanded the removal and arrest of Gyanesh Kumar.

The party raised serious concerns about the Special Intensive Revision process in Uttarakhand. They said that objections were filed against valid voters through a large number of Form 7 applications. The applicants were neither neighbours nor residents of those constituencies.

Congress also claimed that two Election Commissioners disagreed with the Chief's decisions. Even so, the Chief was acting alone. The party called this unconstitutional and a clear violation of democratic principles.

The party demanded a full inquiry into how such applications were filed. They stressed that keeping every eligible citizen's name on electoral rolls is a constitutional duty.