Rajasthan voter rolls show discrepancy of 30 lakh names between state and local polls

A significant discrepancy has come to light in Rajasthan's electoral infrastructure, where nearly 30 lakh voters appear in the rolls for local body elections despite being absent from…

A significant discrepancy has come to light in Rajasthan's electoral infrastructure, where nearly 30 lakh voters appear in the rolls for local body elections despite being absent from the Election Commission's final Special Intensive Revision (SIR) list. This gap highlights a systemic misalignment between the lists used for national/state polls and those governing urban local bodies and panchayats. According to data published in February 2026, the final SIR electoral roll indicated a contraction in the state's electorate, dropping from 5.47 crore to 5.15 crore.

This revision process involved the removal of 44.28 lakh names and the addition of 12.91 lakh new voters. However, the State Election Commission (SEC) continued to maintain lists for the same 199 Assembly constituencies that count approximately 5.45 crore voters, creating a variance of nearly 30 lakh individuals. The SEC has defended this difference as a matter of administrative timing rather than error.

SEC Secretary Rajesh Verma stated that the commission relied on the pre-SIR electoral roll, last updated on January 1, 2025, because preparations for local elections had commenced before the intensive revision exercise was concluded. Chief Electoral Officer Naveen Mahajan further confirmed the use of the older list, noting that no official objections had been raised against the final SIR roll.