New Delhi: For millions of citizens, the right to vote begins with something as simple as finding their names on the electoral rolls. But following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), the final voter lists in five states have recorded a combined decline of approximately 2.29 crore names. The scale of the reduction has raised serious questions about who has disappeared from the rolls, whether eligible voters have been left out and how confidently the country can approach its next round of Assembly elections.
Uttar Pradesh accounts for nearly 90% of the reported decline. Its electorate has shrunk by approximately 2.04 crore, a reduction of 13.24%. Across Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur, the combined electorate has fallen from around 18.71 crore before the SIR to 16.43 crore in the final rolls — a decline of approximately 12.2%.
The figures have prompted Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) to question the integrity of the revision exercise and warn against holding the upcoming Assembly elections without first addressing concerns over voter exclusions.
At its monthly press conference, the organisation demanded an impartial review of the entire SIR process, restoration of eligible voters wrongly removed from the rolls and greater transparency from the Election Commission of India (ECI). It also called for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to take moral responsibility and resign.
Uttar Pradesh accounts for 2.04 crore fewer voters as JIH seeks answers on SIR
The state-wise figures presented by JIH paint a picture of a substantial contraction in the electorate, with Uttar Pradesh bearing the overwhelming share of the decline.
State Reported reduction in electorate
Uttar Pradesh 2.04 crore
Punjab 14 lakh
Uttarakhand 8 lakh
Manipur 1.3 lakh
Goa 1.27 lakh
Total Around 2.29 crore
For Nadeem Khan, Secretary of the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR), the numbers raise questions that the Election Commission cannot afford to leave unanswered.
“There are serious apprehensions about the probity and integrity of the Election Commission of India and the conduct of the Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar,” he said.
Khan warned that if the upcoming elections in these five states are conducted without addressing the concerns, eligible voters could once again find themselves unable to exercise their franchise. He also alleged that previous electoral exercises had seen the exclusion of lakhs of eligible voters alongside the addition of thousands of fake entries.
The larger concern is whether the revision process has been sufficiently transparent and whether citizens whose names have been deleted have had a fair opportunity to challenge their exclusion.
Khan said public confidence in the Election Commission had suffered serious damage. He called for the concerns to be resolved within one or two months, before elections are announced or conducted.
JIH has demanded the publication of detailed, state-wise data showing how many names were deleted, how many new voters were added, how many excluded voters were restored and how objections were handled. It has also called for an impartial review of the entire exercise and the restoration of eligible voters wrongly removed.
The organisation is not seeking a delay in the Assembly elections. Rather, it wants the electoral-roll concerns resolved before polling begins.
“Assembly elections should be held on schedule, but only after the electoral-roll concerns have been addressed and the public has been assured that the process is fair, transparent and inclusive,” Khan said.
Azam Khan’s repeated arrests raise questions over alleged political targeting
The concerns raised by JIH extended beyond electoral politics to what it described as the growing use of criminal proceedings and investigative agencies against political opponents, activists and dissenters.
JIH Vice President Prof. Salim Engineer cited the case of veteran Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, who has faced numerous criminal cases and spent a prolonged period in prison. The Muhammad Ali Jauhar University, founded by Khan, has also faced official action.
What particularly concerned the organisation was Khan’s arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in another case within minutes of his release from prison after securing bail from a court.
For JIH, the sequence of events raises questions about whether investigative agencies are being used fairly or whether their powers are being deployed to keep political opponents under pressure.
“JIH strongly condemns the use of criminal proceedings and investigative agencies to carry out a political vendetta against leaders, activists and dissenters,” Prof. Engineer said.
He argued that such practices do more than affect individual political leaders. They risk creating an atmosphere in which peaceful dissent becomes increasingly difficult and public trust in institutions begins to erode.
Describing Azam Khan’s case as part of a wider pattern of alleged political witch-hunts against those who challenge the ruling establishment, Prof. Engineer called for closer scrutiny of investigative agencies to ensure that criminal proceedings are not used to punish political opposition or silence dissent.
From winter shelters to cleaner air, JIH calls for preventive action
The organisation also turned to issues that directly affect people’s everyday lives, urging governments to prepare for the approaching winter and take preventive steps against worsening air pollution.
With homeless people, elderly citizens and economically vulnerable families particularly exposed to falling temperatures, JIH said governments must act before winter conditions become severe. It called for more night shelters, adequate supplies of blankets and warm clothing, hot meals and mobile health units in vulnerable areas.
Prof. Engineer said JIH and its associated organisations carry out winter relief work across the country, distributing blankets and providing assistance to people irrespective of their religion, caste or background. He also appealed to citizens to look out for elderly, isolated and homeless people in their neighbourhoods.
On pollution, JIH called for stricter enforcement against construction dust and waste burning, coordinated action across affected regions and stronger public health protections. Children, older people and those with existing illnesses, it said, need particular protection before air pollution reaches dangerous levels.
