7.72 Lakh Voters Added in J&K in Highest Increase in Electoral Rolls

Srinagar: In the highest-ever increase of 10.19% in the electoral rolls of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), around 7.72 lakh voters were added after the completion of delimitation in the Union Territory. After the publication of the electoral rolls, the total number of voters increased from 75,86,899 to 83,59,771—42,91,687 males, 40,67,900 females and 184 third gender.

“For the first time in the history of J&K, more than 11 lakh names were included in a single Special Summary Revision (SSR) period,” according to an official statement. 

Following the completion of delimitation, the Election Commission of India (ECI) had ordered pre-revision in J&K on June 10, which primarily included mapping the existing electoral rolls of 83 pre-delimitation constituencies to the post-delimitation 90 constituencies in accordance with the Delimitation Commission’s order. 

The ECI had ordered an SSR of photo electoral rolls. The draft rolls were published on September 15, adding 613 new polling stations and taking the total count to 11,370. The ECI had called for claims and objections from September 15 to October 25, which was followed by a period of 15 days till November 10 for their disposal.

“During this period, a record 11,40,768 claims were received through Form-6 for inclusion of names in the electoral rolls across the UT. Out of these, 11,28,672 claims were accepted and only 12,096 claims were rejected,” the statement added. This included 30,1,961 claims of inclusion in the age group of 18-19. A total of 41,2,157 requests for deletion were received out of which 35,8,222 were accepted and the rest rejected. “This resulted in a net increase of 7,72,872 electors in the final electoral roll, i.e. a 10.19% net increase in the registered electors over the draft roll,” the statement read. 

According to officials, the gender ratio has also shown an increase of 27 points and now stands at 948, which is above the Census gender ratio of the UT. Overall, there has been a 6% increase in the elector population ratio from 52% to 58%, they added.

 
The officials also said that even as the SSR has culminated with the publication of final rolls, the process of continuous updating, however, shall continue and that any eligible citizen who has been left out of the electoral roll can apply through any of the modes of registration. 

The delimitation process in the region has been mired in political controversy as mainstream political parties protested the decision. Earlier, as the ECI announced allowing non-locals in J&K to register as voters, opposition parties termed it “gerrymandering” aimed to tilt the balance in the Bhartiya Janata Party’s (BJP) favour.