Now Reading: Rohit Pawar claims 3 crore voters may be deleted in Maharashtra SIR
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Rohit Pawar claims 3 crore voters may be deleted in Maharashtra SIR
Maharashtra MLA Rohit Pawar has claimed the number of voters whose names could be deleted from electoral rolls under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise may rise from 2.07 crore to nearly…
Maharashtra MLA Rohit Pawar has claimed the number of voters whose names could be deleted from electoral rolls under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise may rise from 2.07 crore to nearly 3 crore, alleging irregularities in the verification process. Addressing a press conference, Pawar targeted Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and said electoral powers had been centralised with the Election Commission, allowing voter names to be added or deleted from Delhi. He alleged booth-level officers in some areas conducted table surveys instead of physical verification, with information supplied by BJP workers, citing instances in Pune, Nashik and Thane.
Pawar said of the 1.22 crore voters under scrutiny, some would be disqualified, and the figure of 2.07 crore deleted voters could reach 3 crore. Official data cited by Pawar shows Maharashtra has 9.78 crore registered voters, with enumeration forms for 2.07 crore voters uncollected during SIR. Pawar also alleged 40-50 lakh voters were added between the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections through Form 6, and said the ongoing SIR along with delimitation could threaten the Constitution and democracy.
The Samvidhan Jagar Abhiyan, comprising former judges and activists, demanded transparency in the SIR process and an inquiry into the Election Commission's functioning. It clarified the 2.07 crore figure does not mean voters are permanently deleted but subject to verification. The organisation demanded CEC Gyanesh Kumar's resignation, repeal of the 2023 EC appointments law, and replacement of the SIR with a transparent verification process.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The three sources all report Rohit Pawar's claims, but differ in framing. New Indian Express and The Hindu lead with Pawar's 3-crore figure and his centralisation allegation, while Free Press Journal leads with the Samvidhan Jagar Abhiyan's demand for an EC inquiry and crucially clarifies the 2.07 crore figure does not mean permanent deletion. Free Press Journal provides this corrective context that the other two omit from their leads, and adds the Indian Express investigation and the Goa ERO software issue. The balanced reading: Pawar's claim is reported as an allegation, not a fact, and official data shows 2.07 crore forms uncollected, not automatically deleted. The Election Commission's response, if any, remains absent across all sources.
The next concrete step is the claims-and-objections process for affected voters during the SIR exercise, which is ongoing.
Coverage: 3 sources, 1 government-critical, 2 neutral
Sources (3): newindianexpress.com (neutral report), thehindu.com (neutral report), freepressjournal.in (government critical)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry.
Updated: this story now draws on 3 sources.
