In a sweeping electoral roll revision, Bhopal district has witnessed the deletion of a staggering number of voter names, with key urban constituencies seeing more than one in four names struck off. The draft rolls published after Phase I of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) reveal an unprecedented clean-up operation in the state capital.
Unprecedented Scale of Deletions
The office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) released the revised rolls on Tuesday, December 23. The data paints a dramatic picture of voter churn. Bhopal Madhya constituency led the district with 27.56% of its voters removed, closely followed by Bhopal South-West at 27.09%. These are the highest proportions among Bhopal's seven assembly segments.
Overall, the district saw 4.38 lakh deletions, which is 20.64% of its total electorate. This massive pruning reduced the total number of voters from 21.25 lakh (as of October 27, 2025) to 16.87 lakh in the new draft.
What Drove the Massive Clean-Up?
The Special Intensive Revision involved rigorous field verification. Officials targeted several categories for removal:
- Names of deceased voters
- Individuals who have permanently shifted residence
- Voters found absent during physical verification
- Duplicate entries in the rolls
- Other ineligible cases
In absolute numbers, Govindpura recorded the highest deletions at 97,052, followed by Narela (81,235) and Bhopal Madhya (67,304). Other constituencies like Narela (22.89%), Govindpura (24.15%), and Bhopal North (20.45%) also saw substantial cuts. Berasia assembly segment had the lowest deletion rate at just 5.08%.
Explaining the High Percentage in Bhopal Madhya
Deepak Pandey, the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) for Bhopal Madhya, explained the reasons behind the constituency topping the chart. He stated that nearly 22% of the removed names belonged to voters who have permanently shifted.
"This is mainly because areas of the old city that fall in the constituency have seen a large number of shifts in residence by people who lived in rented accommodations," Pandey told TOI. "Then in areas like parts of Shivaji Nagar that come under the constituency, there are government quarters—many employees have been transferred or retired. Thirdly, many slum areas from the constituency were shifted."
Urban Mobility and the Final Count
Polling officials said the exercise highlights the high urban mobility in Bhopal. The verification across the seven constituencies identified:
- 33,791 deceased voters
- Over 2.86 lakh permanently shifted voters
- More than one lakh absent voters
- Over 14,000 duplicate entries
Authorities have clarified that voters categorized as 'no-mapping', whose details could not be verified, will be served notices through Booth Level Officers (BLOs). They will be given an opportunity to submit relevant documents to prove their eligibility.
The window for claims and objections will remain open until February 14, 2026. Following this process, the final electoral rolls will be published on February 21, 2026.
Political Implications and Reactions
While election officials maintain that the SIR is a routine exercise aimed at purifying the voter lists, the sheer scale of deletions has not gone unnoticed. The drastic reduction in the voter base, particularly in Bhopal's core urban constituencies, has drawn keen attention from all major political parties.
Analysts and party workers are closely watching how these revised numbers could potentially alter the electoral equations in the capital city. The changes are significant enough to influence campaign strategies and resource allocation for upcoming elections.
The final rolls published in February will set the stage for the next electoral battle in Madhya Pradesh, with Bhopal's reconfigured voter demographics at the center of political planning.
