Aizawl, Jul 8 (PTI) Mizoram’s influential student body, the Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP), on Wednesday disputed Chief Electoral Officer Garima Gupta’s assertion that the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) 2026 has not revealed any abnormal voter growth, claiming that the CEO’s statement was not entirely accurate.
Speaking to reporters during an interaction at its office in Aizawl, MZP leaders said a detailed examination of the newly published draft electoral roll showed unusually high growth in elector numbers in the Chakma community majority villages in the southern part of the state.
The organisation alleged that while those villages recorded voter surge ranging from 50 to 376 per cent, villages predominantly inhabited by Mizos in the Chakma area registered comparatively modest increase ranging between 10 and 20 per cent.
Citing Sumasumi village in south Mizoram’s Lunglei district as an example, MZP leaders said that the number of electors had risen from 52 in the 2005 electoral roll to 248 in the latest draft roll published on July 4, registering an increase of 376.92 per cent.
It further claimed that seven villages dominated by the Chakma community recorded voter growth of more than 200 per cent, while 16 villages registered increases exceeding 100 per cent.
According to the MZP, its analysis covered 95 villages, of which more than 30 showed increases of over 50 per cent in the number of electors.
Questioning the Chief Electoral Officer’s assessment, the student body alleged that adequate attention had not been given to the implementation and supervision of the SIR exercise.
It urged the CEO to personally ensure close monitoring of the electoral roll revision until all discrepancies are thoroughly addressed.
The MZP also alleged deficiencies in electoral mapping across five Assembly constituencies and appealed to election officials to exercise utmost vigilance during the Claims and Objections period from July 4 to August 4, during which applications for inclusion, deletion and correction of electoral roll entries are being heard.
Earlier, Gupta had said that the election department has not seen any abnormal growth in voter number and potential inclusion of foreign nationals in the state’s electoral roll after the SIR exercise conducted between May 30 and June 28.
“We do not see any case of a foreign national being entered in the electoral roll. As per the draft roll, there is no large increase or abnormal growth in voter numbers,” the CEO had told a news conference after the publication of the draft rolls on July 4.
On Tuesday, political parties had called for deletion of names from the draft electoral rolls under the ongoing SIR if they have no linkage with the last 2005 SIR records.
In a joint resolution adopted during an all-party meeting here, the parties had also urged that all entries carrying remarks or appearing doubtful be subjected to careful verification in coordination with civil society organisations and NGOs to ensure the accuracy of the electoral rolls.
Gupta said that enumeration forms of 46,163 voters, or 5.28 per cent of the total electorate in 2025, could not be collected during the SIR exercise.
Of these, 21,295 electors (2.43 per cent) were found to have died, 13,978 (1.60 per cent) had permanently shifted probably to other states or foreign countries, 8,333 (0.95 per cent) were untraceable or absent despite repeated visits, and 2,248 (0.26 per cent) were already enrolled elsewhere, she had said.
Additionally, 309 voters, whose names have appeared in the last rolls of 2025, refused to be enrolled during the SIR on religious grounds, the CEO said.
The draft electoral rolls published on July 4 contain 8,28,906 electors, including 4,29,881 women voters. PTI CORR NN
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.