Congress leader seeks EC clarification on 65,255 reported SIR cases in Dimapur and Chümoukedima

Dimapur, October 23 (MExN): Congress leader Rajesh Kumar Sethi Jain on Friday urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the electoral authorities in Nagaland to clarify the figures reported in connection with the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Dimapur and Chümoukedima districts, citing concerns over transparency, accountability and the protection of eligible voters.In a statement, Sethi Jain, former chairman of the Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) Minority Department and national coordinator of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) Minority Department in-charge of Manipur, said newspaper reports indicated that a combined 65,255 electors had been deleted from the draft electoral roll or classified as “uncollectible” across the two districts.According to the reported figures, the combined electorate declined from 2,35,644 in 2025 to 1,70,389 in the 2026 draft rolls, representing a reduction of approximately 27.69%.The constituency-wise figures reported include 8,749 electors deleted from the draft roll in Dimapur-I, a reduction of 34.27%, and 19,605 in Dimapur-II, a reduction of 32.18%.For Dimapur-III, the newspaper report indicated a reduction of approximately 21.08%, although the relevant figures require confirmation from the complete official table.At the district level, Dimapur reportedly recorded 36,629 draft-roll deletions, with the electorate declining from 1,25,703 to 89,074. In Chümoukedima, 28,626 cases were reportedly classified as “uncollectible” during verification.Sethi Jain said the figures warranted serious attention but cautioned against treating the combined figure of 65,255 as the final number of permanently deleted voters.He emphasised the need to distinguish between names removed from a draft electoral roll and cases classified as uncollectible during verification, adding that the final figures could be established only after the completion of the prescribed revision process, including claims and objections.Seeks detailed clarification from ECSethi Jain called upon the ECI, the Chief Electoral Officer of Nagaland and the concerned Electoral Registration Officers to issue a detailed public clarification on the reported figures.He sought information on the verified reasons behind the 65,255 reported cases across Dimapur and Chümoukedima, including the number relating to confirmed deaths, permanent migration, duplicate registrations, incorrect addresses and other legally permissible grounds.He also sought details of the number of electors restored or added following claims, objections and corrections, as well as the final constituency-wise figures after completion of the revision process.The Congress leader further asked whether notices and opportunities to respond had been provided wherever required under the applicable rules and what assistance and deadlines had been made available to eligible electors whose names were missing from the draft rolls.He urged the electoral authorities to publish constituency-wise and polling-station-wise data, subject to applicable privacy safeguards, to enable political parties, civil society organisations and affected citizens to understand the changes and assist eligible voters.Raises concerns over long-settled familiesSethi Jain said the issue required careful consideration in a district where several communities had lived together for generations.He noted that concerns had been raised in public discussions about the possibility of a substantial number of long-settled Non-Naga electors being affected. However, he acknowledged that the newspaper report did not establish how many affected electors belonged to any particular community.He said the matter should be clarified through reliable official data rather than assumptions.Every eligible citizen, irrespective of community, language, religion or family origin, must receive equal treatment under the law, he said, adding that no genuine voter should lose the opportunity to participate in the democratic process because of an administrative error or an inability to complete verification requirements.Sethi Jain also called for a constructive response from the Nagaland government to the wider concerns of long-settled Non-Naga families.He said issues relating to residence documentation, access to eligible health and welfare schemes, education, employment, property-related matters and licences or permits for small businesses should be examined under the applicable laws and policies.He further said reports of families migrating from Nagaland because of economic hardship or uncertainty about their future warranted a systematic study to identify genuine difficulties and develop lawful solutions that promote security, dignity and equal opportunity.Appeals to community organisationsSethi Jain appealed to the Linguistic Minority Forum of Nagaland (LMFN), various Non-Naga Samaj organisations, intellectuals, legal experts, civil society groups and concerned citizens to undertake a comprehensive, evidence-based assessment of the SIR figures and their wider socio-economic implications.He urged the organisations concerned to assist eligible electors in checking their names, obtaining information from the appropriate electoral authorities and filing claims or objections within the prescribed deadlines.He said the reported 27.69 per cent reduction in the combined draft electorate of Dimapur and Chümoukedima was substantial enough to merit a thorough explanation, while stressing that the distinction between draft-roll deletions, uncollectible cases and final deletions must be maintained to avoid misinformation.