New Delhi [India], January 6 : The final electoral roll for the upcoming Delhi Assembly polls, published on Monday, January 6, 2025, recorded a total of 1,55,24,858 registered voters in the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, marking a net increase of 1.09 per cent.
According to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Delhi, during the claims and objections period between October 29 to November 28, 2024, a total of 1,35,089 new registrations were done. A total of 69,177 deletions in the voter list and a total of 83,825 corrections were made.
"All pending claims and objections as of October 29, 2024, along with those received up to December 15, 2024, were resolved by December 24, 2024. This process resulted in the addition of 3,08,942 voters and the deletion of 1,41,613, yielding a net increase of 1,67,329 voters," the Delhi CEO said.
However, the CEO highlighted an unprecedented surge in new voter registrations since December 16, 2024, with over 5.1 lakh Form-6 applications received after the Special Summary Revision (SSR) 2025 deadline.
"This significant spike, occurring more than 20 days after the closure of the claims and objections period, is under scrutiny. Directions have been issued to all Election Registration Officers (EROs) to strictly verify each application as per Election Commission of India (ECI) guidelines. Measures being implemented include 100 per cent field verification by EROs and Assistant EROs (AEROs) and Personal hearings in doubtful cases," the Delhi CEO said.
According to CEO Delhi, eight FIRs have been lodged against 24 individuals till now for submitting fraudulent documents for obtaining voter ID.
The sudden spike in voter registration can be attributed to the recently announced 'Mahila Samman' Scheme by the ruling party, which ties scheme benefits to voter ID possession. Past instances of similar practices include the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, where women were promised financial benefits under "guarantee cards" by political parties.
As per the CEO, draft rolls were displayed at designated locations and published on the CEO Delhi website on October 29, 2024. Copies of the draft rolls were shared with all six recognized political parties.
Special camps were organized on November 9-10 and November 23-24, 2024, at polling stations to facilitate public access to the draft rolls and submission of claims and objections.
Steps such as BLO field verification, cross-verification at AERO/ERO levels, and notice issuance to objectors were undertaken to ensure accuracy.
"The final electoral roll, published on January 6, 2025, is available online and at designated polling stations. Recognized political parties have been provided copies of the final roll. Continuous updation of electoral rolls will proceed as per ECI guidelines, allowing further claims and objections to be filed," the Delhi CEO said.