Over 1.1 Million Duplicate Voters Found in BMC Draft List Ahead of Civic Polls
Mumbai’s upcoming civic election has started on a controversial note after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) revealed that 1.10 million voters appear more than once in the draft voters’ list. This staggering number represents 10.6 percent of the city’s 10.34 million registered voters, raising serious concerns about the accuracy of electoral rolls and the possibility of bogus voting.
The draft voter list, published on November 20, has triggered a massive verification exercise across the city, especially in areas with high migrant populations and frequent residential shifts.
Why Mumbai Has Such a High Number of Duplicate Voters
According to the State Election Commission (SEC), Mumbai’s floating population, constant migration, and the absence of a special summary revision this year have led to an unusually high count of repeated entries.
SEC officials said that this year’s voter list update did not include large-scale deletions, which typically remove old or outdated entries. As a result, names of voters who shifted homes, changed wards, or updated their addresses have appeared in multiple polling booths.
To address this, Booth-Level Officers (BLOs) have now started visiting affected voters to confirm where they intend to vote, ensuring the electoral process remains fair.
Where Are Most Duplicate Entries Located?
The BMC used special software to scan the voter database and identify repeated names. The distribution of duplicate entries shows a clear pattern:
- Western Suburbs (Wards 1–170): 4,98,597 duplicate voters
- Eastern Suburbs (Wards 103–171): 3,29,216 duplicate voters
- Island City (Wards 172–227): 2,73,692 duplicate voters
These numbers reflect Mumbai’s uneven population density and the high rate of address changes among residents of suburban areas.
SEC’s New Verification Drive: What It Means for Voters
After issuing instructions last month to all municipal bodies, the SEC has begun a statewide operation to clean up voter lists by identifying people registered in more than one ward.
Here’s how the verification process works:
- BLOs physically visit homes of voters listed multiple times
- Voters must declare one booth where they intend to vote
- Remaining entries will be marked inactive
- Polling officers at other booths will be instructed not to allow voting if the individual shows up there
The goal is to prevent any possibility of double voting on election day.
Political Uproar: Opposition Smells a Conspiracy
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray has accused the ruling alliance of “vote theft,” claiming the high number of duplicate entries is not accidental but part of a systematic plan to influence the BMC election.
Thackeray alleged:
- Voters have been registered using shop addresses and toilets
- Some addresses have more than 10 registered voters
- The draft list appears to have been prepared earlier for selected groups
He pointed to a draft list obtained by a Shiv Sena worker, which carried the date November 14, even though the official list was published on November 20.
He questioned whether an early draft had been made available secretly.
Thackeray warned that more “sensational revelations” about the SEC’s irregularities would be exposed in the coming days.
State Government’s Wider Concern: Duplicate Entries Across Maharashtra
According to senior state officials, duplicate voters are not a Mumbai-only issue.
Across all poll-bound municipal areas in Maharashtra, the number of repeated entries may exceed 2.5 million.
Key details:
- Total voters in draft lists: 98.49 million
- New voters added after November 2024 assembly polls: 1.47 million
- Cut-off date for registration for local body elections: July 1
The government now faces the massive task of correcting these lists before polling begins.
What This Means for the BMC Election
The discovery of over a million duplicate voters has increased pressure on the SEC and the BMC to ensure a transparent election process. With political parties already gearing up for a high-stakes battle, the controversy adds to the tension surrounding Mumbai’s most-watched civic poll.
The cleanup drive will determine whether the final voters’ list will be accurate and whether trust in the electoral process can be maintained ahead of the election.
