MP govt finds thousands of incorrect voter addresses:More than 8 lakh addresses show fake or unknown voters, investigation raises questions about ‘Special Intensive Revision’ process

Ward number 75 in Bhopal’s crowded Narela assembly area has caught attention. In the narrow lanes of Ratan Colony, house numbers 1 and 2 are unusual. According to the 2025 voter list, 158 people from 30 different castes are registered in these two small houses. House number 1 alone has 104 voters from 21 castes. The numbers are surprising because the houses can barely fit 10–12 people. When Booth Level Officer Dhamisha Kushwah visited under the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process and called out voters’ names, an elderly woman from house number 1 said she only knew 4 of them. The rest were unknown to her. This raises questions: Are these fake voters, as opposition parties claim? Or is it just a clerical mistake? The issue is widespread. Election Commission data shows more than 8 lakh addresses across Madhya Pradesh have similar irregularities. In such a situation, the biggest question is whether this SIR process, on which crores of rupees are being spent, will be able to solve this problem? Will incorrect addresses be corrected? Will the names of these ‘invisible’ voters be removed from the list or remain? Dainik Bhaskar conducted a ground investigation and spoke to commission officials to get to the bottom of this entire matter. 104 Voters Registered at a Flour Mill Shop
To find out if people from 21 castes can actually live in one house, our team investigated it three times in seven days… First time: The team went to the house for reconnaissance
Bhaskar’s team reached house number 1 in Ward 75. On its ground floor, there is a small flour mill shop, run by an elderly woman. When we asked her about the voter list, she clearly said, We have never rented out our house. Only our family has been living here for decades. This was also the truth. In this house of approximately one thousand square feet, it is almost impossible for more than 10-12 people to live. Second time: Team arrived with BLO
The next day, we, along with BLO Dhamisha Kushwah, again reached the same address. She separated out more than 100 forms related to house number 1 from her enumeration forms. She called out names one by one, but only forms for 4 people were taken from that house. House number 2 was also in the same situation. Third Time: BLO said – some people contacted
Seven days later, when we contacted the BLO again, she said, ‘Some of those 100 voters were found at other booths in the same ward. Some previously lived here on rent and have now left the city. Some have contacted me to get the form. A large number of such voters have no trace. Neither was their residence in this ward ever confirmed, nor did they contact us. I am Sharma, Singh and Pandey are also registered at my house
This problem is not limited to Narela only. The same situation exists in Barela village of Bhopal North Assembly constituency. Here, 38 people from 9 castes were registered in the voter list for house number 100. The Yadav family living in the house said that they never rented out to anyone. We asked Ravi, who runs the nearby flour mill, about these names. He recognized almost every voter on the list and said that they all live in different houses in the same locality. Some people have moved elsewhere. In the community hall of the same ward, we met Ghanshyam Sharma, who was looking for his form. He narrated his plight, ‘My house number is 152. When I searched for my family’s forms, I found out that someone named Singh, someone named Pandey is also registered at my address. Understand from this case that changing an address is not easy
In this same hall, we met Rajesh Raikwar. The address where Rajesh previously lived on rent is recorded in all his documents, including his voter ID. A year ago, he bought his own house, but he hasn’t changed his address. He says, “Changing an address is a very difficult task. If I change it in my voter ID, then I’ll have to change it everywhere Aadhaar card, bank passbook, driving license. It’s a long and tiring process. That’s why people avoid it.” Will this mystery be solved by the SIR process?
When we asked BLO Anita Raikwar how so many names were registered at the same address, she said, ‘This is a problem that has been going on for years. Old tenants moved out without changing their address. Many times, when voter IDs were made, if the correct house number was not available, many people were registered at the same prominent address. We tell people to get their address changed, but they are not willing.’ BLO said – SIR’s objective is voter verification
BLO Anita Raikwar stated that the ongoing SIR process will not change anyone’s address. The purpose of this process is only to verify whether the voter is alive and whether their name should remain on the list or not. The address column is not even in this form. This means that if 104 people registered at house number 1 in Narela fill out their enumeration form from anywhere and submit it to the BLO, their verification will be done, and they will remain voters at that incorrect address. 4 questions to the commission’s officers…..
If more than 100 voters remain at the same address, then what is the relevance of the SIR process? To understand this, Bhaskar asked these 4 questions to the commission’s officers… Question 1: How did such errors in addresses occur in the voter list?
Answer: There are three main reasons for this. First, tenants who do not update their address after changing houses. Second, in olden times, when voter IDs were made door-to-door, many houses did not have numbers, so several people from the vicinity were registered at a single landmark or prominent address. Third, a large number of voters in Madhya Pradesh did not own their houses, and they were allotted ‘0’ house numbers, which created confusion. Question 2: So, after this SIR process, will the problem of multiple castes in one house be resolved?
Answer: Absolutely not. The purpose of the SIR process is not to correct the address, but to verify the voter. BLOs (Booth Level Officers) will go door-to-door to distribute forms. If the voter fills and submits that form, then their name will remain on the list, regardless of their address. The person filling the form also signs a declaration that the information provided is correct. Only the names of those whose forms are not filled and submitted will ultimately be removed from the list. Question 3: When it is clearly visible that 100 people cannot live in a 3-room house, will their forms still be verified upon receipt?
Answer: Yes. There is no place for this logic in the Election Commission’s process. If the enumeration forms of all 100 registered people are filled and received by the BLO, then all of them will be considered verified. The process is documentary, not based on physical verification. Question 4: If someone wants to change their address, what should they do?
Answer: Yes, the address can be changed, but this is not part of the SIR process. For this, Form-8 will have to be filled separately. But there’s a catch. The address in the voter list will only change if your new address is registered in your supporting documents, such as your Aadhaar card. This means you will first have to change your address in all other government documents, only then will a change in the voter list be possible.