On September 18, 2026, the Delhi Chief Electoral Officer released a list of electors whose entries in the draft electoral roll have been flagged for discrepancies. The list covers roughly one‑third of the 97.5 lakh names on the draft roll – 33.1 lakh electors – and includes a number of high‑profile political figures such as Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.
According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), notices are generated when an elector’s details show a “logical discrepancy” or when the information cannot be linked to the previous Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. The flagged electors must have their documents verified before they can be retained in the final roll, which is slated for publication on November 4, 2026.
Scope of the discrepancies
The draft roll’s discrepancy list comprises 11 distinct categories. These range from mismatches between a voter’s name on the current roll and the previous roll, to more technical anomalies such as an age gap of less than 40 years between a voter and a grandparent, or an age gap of less than 15 years between a parent and child. Other categories include linking more than six progeny to the same parent, and inconsistencies in the father’s name or the relative to whom an elector is linked.
In total, 19.3 lakh electors have been flagged for what the EC calls “logical discrepancies.” The remaining 13.8 lakh of the 33.1 lakh notices fall under the “no mapping” category, which applies when an elector’s details – or those of a close relative – could not be matched to the prior SIR roll.
Prominent names appear across both categories. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta was flagged in Part Number 123 of the Shalimar Bagh Assembly constituency for an “age gap of less than 15 years between a parent and progeny.” Justice Madan B. Lokur, a former Supreme Court judge, was flagged for an age gap of less than 40 years between him and his grandfather in the Malviya Nagar constituency.
Other leaders whose names were flagged for logical discrepancies include former Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and his wife Sudesh Dhankhar, former Union Ministers Kapil Sibal and his wife Promila Sibal, former Union Minister Subramanian Swamy, Delhi Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh, former Delhi BJP president Virendra Kumar Sachdeva, historian Romila Thapar, and New Delhi MP Bansuri Swaraj. Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi also appears on the list, though the reason for his flagging was left blank.
In the “no mapping” category, Arvind Kejriwal’s name – together with those of his parents Gobind Ram Kejriwal and Gita Devi, his wife Sunita Kejriwal and son Pulkit Kejriwal – was flagged. The same category includes the Dhankhar couple, the Sibal couple, Subramanian Swamy, Romila Thapar, and Bansuri Swaraj, who is the daughter of former Union Minister and Delhi chief minister Sushma Swaraj and former Mizoram Governor Swaraj Kaushal.
Electors in the no‑mapping category must substantiate their eligibility by submitting any of the 12 documents prescribed by the Election Commission for verification.
Verification process and timeline
Following the issuance of notices, the Election Commission’s standard operating procedures require a physical verification of documents at the elector’s registered address. In the case of Chief Minister Gupta, the electoral registration officer (ERO) for Shalimar Bagh reported that a Booth Level Officer (BLO) conducted a field verification on Saturday, after which Gupta’s name was validated for inclusion in the final roll.
A senior election official clarified that while the verification process will involve on‑site visits by BLOs, prominent leaders and well‑known personalities are unlikely to be required to appear at hearing centres. Instead, the EROs will compile a list of cases and direct BLOs to the registered addresses for document checks.
The deadline for completing all verifications and disposing of the flagged cases is October 29, 2026. Once the process is finished, the Election Commission will publish the final electoral roll on November 4, 2026.
The extensive flagging exercise reflects the Election Commission’s ongoing effort to ensure the accuracy of voter data ahead of upcoming elections. By cross‑checking current entries against the previous SIR exercise and applying a set of logical rules, the Commission aims to eliminate duplicate, erroneous, or fraudulent entries from the roll.
Stakeholders, including political parties and civil‑society groups, have been monitoring the process closely. The inclusion of high‑profile names such as the Delhi chief minister and former chief minister underscores the non‑partisan nature of the verification, as the same standards apply to all electors regardless of status.
As the October 29 deadline approaches, the focus will shift to the verification of the remaining 13.8 lakh electors in the no‑mapping category. Successful completion of the exercise will pave the way for a final roll that reflects the most accurate and up‑to‑date list of eligible voters in the national capital.
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