A statewide review of electoral rolls in Gujarat has uncovered more than 17 lakh deceased voters still registered on the rolls, as per the detailed release from the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO). The findings, as reported by PTI, came from the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) that started on November 4. Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have been distributing enumeration forms across all districts, with the drive slated to continue till December 11.
Over 5 crore voters registered in the 2025 roll have already received the enumeration forms. Most districts have achieved full distribution, as reported by PTI. The digitisation of returned forms that are now under process has been completed in 12 of 182 assembly constituencies. The list includes Dhanera, Bayad, Jasdan, Jalalpore, Keshod, Gondal, Tharad, Mehmadabad, Khambhat, Limkheda and Jasdan. Dang District leads with 94.35% digitisation.
Large-scale discrepancies in the electoral rolls
The CEO’s office also mentioned that apart from the 17 lakh deceased voters, more than 6.14 lakh voters were found missing from their registered addresses. The exercise also revealed that over 30 lakh voters have permanently migrated, indicating large-scale demographic shifts. BLOs have also found that around 3.25 lakh voters are listed in the “repeated” category. It means their name appeared in multiple locations.
The discrepancies are consistent across districts and underline the administrative challenges faced during the SIR process.
BLO’s death sparks debate on workload
According to an India TV report, a 50-year-old Booth Level Officer, Dinesh Raval, a primary school teacher from Mehsana district, passed away because of a heart attack on November 28 during the revision period. Police have confirmed to the news portal that the person was rushed to the hospital in Vadnagar, but could not be saved. The post-mortem mentioned the cause of the death as cardiac arrest. No allegations have been made by the family nor by any colleagues.
However, opposition leaders, including Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi, stated that BLOs were facing severe workload and inadequate assistance, which may have led to the stress. On the other hand, police rejected these suggestions, stating that there was no evidence connecting his death to official duties