The Election Commission of India’s (EC) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls — a large-scale exercise aimed at updating voter lists — is being carried out across 12 States and Union Territories covering close to 51 crore voters. The enumeration phase of the exercise began in November 2025. Among these States and UTs, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, and Puducherry are scheduled to go to the polls in April 2026.
The first round of the clean-up exercise was carried out earlier in Bihar, where more than 65 lakh names were deleted from the electoral rolls and the gender ratio fell sharply from 907 women per 1,000 men to 892 women after the SIR.
The Hindu had found that the exclusions were higher in the 18-29 age category, with one of the primary reasons being that the women had ‘permanently shifted’. The ECI had then said in the Supreme Court that women’s names would have been excluded as they had migrated to other States after marriage. Yet, The Hindu’s data stories had shown that more men migrated for work than women who migrated for marriage, according to the Census and later surveys. This raises the question of whether similar patterns are visible in other States where the SIR exercise has been carried out. The table shows the change in gender ratio (women per 1000 men) in Lok Sabha 2024 electoral rolls and final SIR rolls across States and Union Territories.
Decline across States
Data from the 2024 Lok Sabha election rolls and the final SIR rolls show that while the drop in gender ratio is not as steep as in Bihar, all major States have recorded a decline in the proportion of women voters relative to men after the revision. Tamil Nadu is the notable exception, where the gender ratio improved even though the State also witnessed one of the largest reductions in total electors following the exercise. The table shows the percentage decline in electors across States and UTs, comparing pre-SIR rolls and Lok Sabha 2024 rolls with final SIR rolls
Uttar Pradesh has not been included in this analysis as the final electoral roll for the State is yet to be published. The EC has extended the revision schedule multiple times and the final roll is now expected to be released on April 10.
In West Bengal, the gender ratio fell slightly from about 966 women per 1,000 men in the 2024 Lok Sabha rolls to around 956 per 1,000 men after the SIR revision. The State also recorded one of the largest reductions in its electorate — a 8.06% decline. Nearly 60 lakh people are still being adjudicated for “logical discrepancies” but are part of the rolls so far.
The gender ratio in Gujarat recorded a sharper shift as it fell from roughly 945 women to about 938 in the final SIR rolls. The total electorate declined from 5.08 crore to 4.4 crore, a reduction of 13.4% of the electorate.
Madhya Pradesh also saw a decline in the gender ratio after the revision, from 945 women to 934 in the final SIR rolls.
The State’s electorate shrank from about 5.74 crore voters before the SIR to 5.39 crore in the final rolls, a reduction of around 34.25 lakh electors (5.97%).
The number of women electors in Rajasthan fell from about 2.56 crore to 2.45 crore, while the number of male electors declined more modestly. The gender ratio dropped from 920 to 911. Overall, the State’s electorate witnessed a 6.13% reduction.
In contrast, Tamil Nadu, one of the States where women form a majority on the electoral rolls, recorded an improvement in the gender ratio.
The ratio increased from 1,034 women per 1,000 men in the 2024 rolls to 1,044 in the final SIR rolls. But the total electorate in the State declined from 6.41 to 5.67 crore, a reduction of about 74 lakh electors, or 11.5% from the pre SIR rolls.
However, Kerala, another State with a higher number of women voters than men, saw a decline in the gender ratio after the revision. The ratio fell from 1,064 to 1,053 in the final SIR rolls, though women continue to remain more numerous than men on the electoral rolls. The total electorate also declined by about 3.2%.
Similarly, women continue to slightly outnumber men in Chhattisgarh although the ratio fell from 1,016 to 1,002 in the final SIR rolls. The total electorate declined by about 11.77%.
Goa is also among the States where women continue to outnumber men. But the State’s electorate saw a significant contraction. The total number of voters saw a decline of around 10.7% of voters.
Status of Union Territories
Among Union Territories, Puducherry, has historically seen higher women participation and representation on the rolls and continued to show a strong female presence even after the revision. However, the total number of voters declined from about 10.2 lakh to 9.4 lakh, representing a 7.5% reduction.
In the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the gender ratio rose from 919 to 979 after the revision. The number of female electors fell by a smaller margin compared with male electors, leading to an increase in the ratio even as the overall electorate dropped significantly. The rolls declined from 3.1 lakh to about 2.58 lakh voters, representing a reduction of 16.8%, the largest proportional declines among the regions analysed.
Lakshadweep, on the other hand, saw only a marginal increase in the gender ratio from 968 women voters to 971 in the final SIR rolls. The Union territory recorded almost no change in its electorate with just a 0.3% drop.
With inputs from Mohammed Iqbal, Sreeparna Chakrabarty and Shubhomoy Sikdar.
The data for the charts were sourced from Election commission of India.
Published – March 11, 2026 07:00 am IST
