Delhi SIR: The human cost of mass voter deletions | Frontline Conversations

In this episode of Frontline Conversations, Sagrika Rajora of Voters’ Adhikar Manch discusses the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Delhi and the large-scale deletion of voters from the electoral register. She speaks about the impact of the exercise on migrants, working-class people, residents of slums and resettlement colonies, minorities and people with unstable housing. The conversation also looks at the discretion given to BLOs, the difficulties of tracing voter records from earlier electoral rolls, and the use of Form 6 for people whose names have been excluded. Rajora questions whether the process provides adequate notice, due process and safeguards against arbitrary deletion. She also discusses concerns about selective exclusion, including the experiences of Muslim voters, transgender people and other marginalised groups, while stressing the need to investigate such patterns carefully. The discussion examines the relationship between SIR and citizenship concerns, the constitutional implications of disenfranchisement, and why the scale of deletions matters in a democracy. Highlights: - Delhi’s SIR and the deletion of around 47.5 lakh voters - How mass deletions affect migrants and working-class voters - Voters marked as permanently shifted, untraceable, dead or duplicate - Problems with enumeration forms and Booth Level Officers - The difficulties of tracing voter records from the 2002 electoral roll - Form 6, voter deletion and questions of due process - Claims of selective exclusion and the experiences of marginalised communities - Concerns over the treatment of Muslim and transgender voters - Why the scale of deletions matters after the 2025 Delhi Assembly election - The need for transparency, accountability and safeguards in electoral-roll revision <!--THE END--> - Delhi SIR - Special Intensive Revision - Election Commission of India - Voter deletion - Electoral reforms - Migrants and voting rights - Citizenship and voting rights - Right to vote - Election Commission - Political disenfranchisement - Indian democracy Perfect for viewers interested in: Credits: Host: Soni Mishra Camera: Dipesh Arora and Deepanshu Chhabra Editing: Razal Pareed Producers: Mridula Vijayarangakumar and Muhammed Mukhtar T H If you found this conversation insightful, don’t forget to like, share and subscribe to Frontline for more in-depth conversations on politics, society and democracy. Subscribe to Frontline: https://frontline.thehindu.com/online... Follow us on: Facebook - / frontlineindia X - Frontline (@frontline\_india) on X Instagram - / frontline.magazine LinkedIn - / frontline-magazine-b12921295