73 lakh ‘missing forms’ isn’t 73 lakh votes
ECI’s own rulebook says draft first, claims next. Telangana voters can restore names via Form 6 — unless someone would rather sell panic than read the process.
The draft roll is not the final roll; claims and objections follow.
A report this week waved a 73,39,234 figure and screamed deletion. What the numbers actually record, per figures attributed to the Telangana CEO’s office, is enumeration forms not collected or digitised at the end of the SIR door-to-door phase — out of 3,38,26,448 electors. That is risk of omission from the draft roll, not a mass erasure on day one.
The Election Commission of India’s SIR note could not be clearer: the draft rolls are published first; electors who missed the enumeration cut-off can file Form 6 with a declaration during claims and objections; and the objective is “no eligible citizen left out, no ineligible included.” Telangana’s CEO has said the same on record — names missing in the draft can be restored through Form 6, and failure to submit the house-to-house form invites notices and verification, not instant disappearance.
The 73.39 lakh pool is also not one thing. The reported breakdown includes deceased, untraceable, permanently moved, duplicates and “other”. Some will wash out on verification; some will come back when people file. That is how the law is written, and the Commission’s own timetable follows it.
So yes, watch the draft, answer notices, and file where needed — but treat “votes gone” headlines for what they are: noise. If Delhi’s BJP-led ecosystem or the Congress chorus wants to turn routine ECI procedure into a panic reel, they can start by quoting the rulebook they keep ignoring. Telangana voters can read it just fine.