Uttarakhand Election Commission Launches Special Drive to Verify 8.27 Lakh Electors Marked 'ASDD' During SIR

The Election Commission has launched a special drive to trace and verify 8.27 lakh electors who were marked “ASDD” (uncollectible) during Uttarakhand ’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR), with officials now being instructed to identify those whose names figured in the pre-SIR electoral roll but are missing from the final list. The exercise, details of which were presented to all district election officers this week, will begin with three-day camps at all 12,543 polling stations from October 8 to 10, followed by house-to-house verification between October 12 and 20. The drive is aimed at correcting omissions after the SIR rather than undertaking another revision: officials will specifically trace people who were on the pre-SIR roll, verify their current status and enrol them through Form 6 if they remain eligible. The data presented by the Chief Electoral Officer’s office shows that 8,26,977 electors were marked ASDD during the SIR. The highest number was recorded in Dehradun (1,86,008), followed by Udham Singh Nagar (1,77,673), Haridwar (1,30,203), Almora (55,485), Pauri Garhwal (51,359) and Tehri Garhwal (43,625). The development comes days after Uttarakhand published its final electoral roll on October 3, with 71,58,949 electors — around 8 lakh fewer than the electorate before the SIR. Chief Electoral Officer BVRC Purushottam said Wednesday that the exercise would specifically look for people who were on the pre-SIR roll but are absent from the current roll. BLOs shall compare the current electoral roll with the pre-SIR electoral roll and identify such electors whose names were there in the pre-SIR roll but who are not included in the current electoral roll and prepare a list of such electors. House-to-house verification Following the three-day camps, BLOs will visit the homes of identified electors between October 12 and 20 to ascertain their present status and facilitate enrolment through Form 6 wherever they are found eligible. The exercise will also cover other left-out voters and first-time voters who became eligible with reference to October 1, 2026. Purushottam said the BLOs would also assist those who turned 18 on October 1 in filling Form 6, and that the exercise will involve not just election officials but also representatives of political parties. During the three-day camps, BLOs, Booth Awareness Group (BAG) members and Booth Level Agents (BLA-2) will be present at polling stations. During house-to-house visits, BLOs will be accompanied by BAG members and, as far as possible, BLAs. The lists prepared by BLOs will be shared with BLAs of recognised political parties. At the end of the exercise, Electoral Registration Officers will again share booth-wise lists with political party representatives, giving them another opportunity to identify eligible voters left out of the roll. 8 lakh-plus drop after SIR The fresh exercise assumes significance against the scale of deletions during the revision. According to data by the CEO’s office, Uttarakhand had 84,29,459 electors on the January 6, 2025 roll. Between January 2025 and August 13, 2026, there were 4,01,276 additions but 17,05,130 deletions across the revision process. The final roll published on October 3 contained 71,58,949 electors. During the claims-and-objections period between July 14 and August 13, 1,29,872 additions and 1,04,708 deletions were recorded. The Indian Express had earlier reported that 1,30,382 Form-7 applications seeking deletion of names were filed during the claims-and-objections period, with more than 85 percent of these coming from Udham Singh Nagar, Haridwar, Dehradun and Nainital. The Electoral Registration Officers will process the applications under the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. The presentation also draws their attention to Rule 20, which provides for a summary inquiry into claims and objections and an opportunity for the concerned persons to be heard.