Residents at a public hearing organised to address questions over SIR deletions in Mangolpuri on Saturday.
Neelam, 45, a resident of JJ Colony in north-west Delhi’s Mangolpuri, arrived at the nearby Mahila Park in Y-Block at 10 a.m. on Saturday carrying her voter ID, pension card, electricity and water bills – all recognised as credible proofs of residence under the Election Commission (EC) guidelines. Yet, her name didn’t figure in the draft electoral roll prepared under the EC’s special intensive revision (SIR) published on August 31.Instead, she was marked ‘permanently shifted’.In a public hearing organised by Jan Sarokar, Voter Adhikar Manch, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) and the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW), aggrieved residents lined up since morning amid rain carrying all documents, including “uncollected” enumeration forms.Ms. Neelam said she had submitted her enumeration form to the Booth-Level Officer (BLO), mapped it to her mother, and even kept a photocopy of the form as proof.Her case is among 300 such instances identified by Jan Sarokar, a citizens’ group, during an independent field audit after the enumeration phase ended on August 17. More than 30 local volunteers physically verified addresses across eight polling booths in Y-Block, covering nearly 9,800 voters. They compared the residents’ status with the 2025 electoral roll, the 2026 draft roll and the ASDD (‘absent’, ‘shifted’, ‘dead’, ‘duplicate’) list that categorises the names left out of the draft roll. They found that several people have been wrongly marked ‘absent’ or ‘permanently shifted’, said one of the volunteers.Y-Block, a working-class neighbourhood, has seen nearly 40% of its names removed from the draft electoral roll. The deletions have also fuelled anxiety over whether the removal could affect access to pensions and other government schemes.At the public hearing camp, volunteers Shagufta, Rachna and Soumya moved from the 2025 roll to the draft roll and the ASDD list, tallying the names. “We have met and verified the status of ASDD entries with people at their addresses. Several entries were found to be incorrect. A man who is alive has been marked dead,” Ms. Shagufta said.Some residents said their forms were never collected. Several others said the BLOs did not return to collect the documents or could not be reached following which their names appeared under “absent” or “shifted” categories.Sunita Devi, who sells vegetables at a mandi, said her husband Sippu Jan and their children, Hari Dayal and Asha, have all been marked ‘shifted’ despite submitting their forms. “We don’t stay at home during the day, we work. I leave in the morning and come back in the evening. Where can we shift?” she said.Forty-eight-year-old Laxmi Devi’s name was absent from both the draft roll and the ASDD list. She said she had voted from the same booth in several elections, including the 2025 Assembly poll, but had not received an enumeration form. “My husband and children’s names are there. I didn’t even get a form,” she said. Her name was among those removed even before the SIR started.‘Where can we go?’Israr, another resident, said his wife’s name has been deleted despite her enumeration form being submitted, raising questions among volunteers about how voters were being categorised.Ms. Neelam, a person with disabilities, meanwhile, said the issue is not just about filling another form but making multiple rounds. “This is heartbreaking,” she said, while controlling her tears.She has rented a room in Prem Nagar so that her child can access educational support through a non-profit organisation, but said her family home is in Y-Block. “I have voted from here in every election since 2009. They should have checked that record before marking me as ‘shifted’. What if my pension gets cut because of this?” she said.According to the EC, electors whose enumeration forms were submitted are to be included in the draft roll while ‘uncollectable’ forms are placed in the ASDD list. Those left out will now have to enrol afresh through Form 6 along with the declaration form. The deadline for submission is September 30. Published - September 06, 2026 12:48 am IST
