DIMAPUR, NOV 11 (NPN): Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) has questioned the exclusion of 1,23,749 electors categorised as absent, shifted or others during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Nagaland. It also demanded clarity on how many were genuinely ineligible and how many eligible voters had been left out of the draft roll.
NPCC through its communications department rejected the BJP’s attempt to dismiss concerns over the SIR through its “Loktantra Bachao, Bheed Tantra Hatao” campaign held in Dimapur on November 7. Congress party said official figures released by the chief electoral officer (CEO) Nagaland raised serious questions about the scale of exclusion during the enumeration process.
According to the figures cited by NPCC, Nagaland had a pre-SIR electorate of 13,57,208. Of those, 11,99,456 enumeration forms were collected, accounting for 88.38% of the electorate. The enumeration identified 28,944 deceased electors (2.13%), while 1,23,749 electors (9.12%) were categorised as absent, shifted or others. Another 5,059 entries (0.37%) were identified as duplicate or multiple enrolments.
The total number of entries not covered by enumeration stood at 1,57,752. The draft electoral roll contained 12,06,457 electors, including 7,001 service electors. NPCC said this represented a net reduction of 1,50,751 electors compared with the pre-SIR electorate.
NPCC said 1,23,749 electors categorised as absent, shifted or others was the most concerning figure. It pointed out that the category included people who were not found, had shifted residence or failed to submit enumeration forms within the stipulated deadline. It maintained that such cases could not automatically be treated as illegal or ineligible voters.
Congress asked the BJP to clarify how many of those electors were genuinely ineligible and how many were eligible citizens left out of the draft roll.
It said BJP’s argument that entries flagged for verification were not necessarily deleted did not address the fact that 1,57,752 entries were not carried forward through the enumeration process into the draft roll. NPCC said verification must protect genuine voters rather than merely reduce electoral figures.
NPCC clarified that it did not oppose the cleaning of electoral rolls. However, it said the removal of deceased and duplicate entries should not become a reason for genuine citizens to lose their democratic right to vote.
The party said it had consistently raised concerns and protested against the SIR, highlighting the exclusion of genuine voters. It also pointed to the Election Commission(EC)’s decision to extend the revision process in Nagaland, along with a few other states, until November 22 as underscoring the seriousness of the concerns.
NPCC said the extension reinforced the need for transparency, accountability and thorough verification to ensure that no eligible voter was deprived of the right to vote. It urged the EC to ensure that genuine voters were not excluded due to administrative shortcomings or procedural difficulties.
The party also called upon the BJP to stop dismissing concerns as political propaganda and respond to the questions raised by Nagaland’s electoral data.
Thursday, November 12, 2026