Over 185,000 Voters Struck from Electoral Rolls in Manipur, Sikkim

The final electoral rolls for Manipur and Sikkim have been published after a special intensive revision, revealing a significant reduction in voter numbers—particularly in areas affected by recent ethnic conflict. About 185,000 names have been struck from the lists, raising questions about representation and due process.

Context of the Revision

The special intensive revision (SIR) was conducted under the guidance of the Election Commission of India, with draft rolls published in July. In Manipur, where ethnic violence displaced thousands since May 2023, Kuki-Zo communities had voiced fears that conflict-related displacement might lead to their removal from voter lists—concerns the government attempted to address during the process.

Behind the Numbers

In Manipur, 96,985 claims and objections were processed. Ultimately, 56,871 voters were added while 30,650 were deleted from the draft roll. The state's Chief Electoral Officer noted that 158,677 voters whose enumeration forms went unreturned were excluded from the draft. These were categorized as shifted (72,473), deceased (43,000), absent (34,740), duplicate (7,394), or other (1,070).

Notably, Manipur's final roll shows more female voters (1,006,962) than male (953,350), with a gender ratio of 1,056 women per 1,000 men. There are also 308 third-gender voters.

Sikkim's Process

In Sikkim, the draft roll contained 433,294 voters. Of these, 361,159 were successfully matched with previous electoral data. The remaining 72,135 could not be mapped, and another 52,384 were flagged with "logical discrepancies." Notices were issued to 124,519 voters in these categories, resulting in 16,485 being deemed ineligible after hearings. Another 324 were removed due to death or relocation. Ultimately, 1,982 voters were added back after objections, bringing the final count to 418,467.