Overview
- The Election Commission said it will run the routine Special Summary Revision in 17 states and union territories and will give parties machine-searchable PDF copies of draft and final electoral rolls.
- The change follows months of controversy over the Special Intensive Revision launched in June 2025, which required extra forms and documentary links to prior rolls and prompted accusations that eligible voters were wrongly flagged.
- Indian media and opposition filings have reported more than 133 million names excluded from revised rolls, though the ECI says omission from a draft does not equal permanent deletion and disputes that figure as final.
- Critics and civil-society groups say automated checks and untested algorithmic tools were used to flag 'logical discrepancies' and that poorer voters, women and religious minorities have borne a disproportionate burden proving eligibility.
- The ECI has ordered an independent technical audit of its systems as protests continue and legal challenges mount, leaving key questions about how audits, roll restorations and downstream effects on welfare and travel will be resolved.