Nagpur: The SIR draft electoral roll is finally online, but for many Nagpur voters, finding their names is proving challenging. Changes in part numbers and polling station locations following rationalisation have left electors unsure which part-wise roll to check, particularly when their old polling details no longer correspond with the new records.For Abhishek Tekam, a resident of Nagpur North, the search began with the polling part where his family had traditionally voted — Part 236. “I kept checking the list but could not find my name. I later discovered that my part number had changed from 236 to 305. Unless you already know the new part number, how are you supposed to know which list to open?” he said.The problem stems from the way the draft rolls are accessed. On the Chief Electoral Officer, Maharashtra’s website, voters can navigate to the SIR-2026 draft electoral roll, select their district, Assembly constituency and preferred language, and then access rolls part-number-wise.Several Assembly constituencies have around 300 or more polling parts, leaving voters unsure which PDF contains their name. And locating the correct part is not the only complaint.Jayant Maske, from Nagpur Central, said repeated attempts to access the rolls were hit by technical glitches. “At times, the captcha throws an error, and the PDF does not download. On other attempts, an error appears, or multiple files get downloaded. When you are already trying different part numbers just to find your name, this makes the process even more confusing. I spent over two hours searching for my name in the voter list,” he said.The issue has gained significance after polling stations across Maharashtra were rationalised just before the draft’s publication. Statewide, the number of polling stations was revised from 1,00,253 to 1,00,216, while 1,403 stations underwent location changes. In Nagpur district, the number fell marginally from 4,610 to 4,607.For voters unable to find their names in the draft, the Election Commission has separately published ASDD/O lists, containing pre-SIR electors excluded for being categorised as absent, shifted, deceased, duplicate, already enrolled elsewhere, or for other reasons.TOI tried reaching senior election officials in the district administration for comment, but they remained unavailable until the time of going to press.Eligible voters missing from the draft can apply for inclusion through Form 6 until September 30, or contact a Booth Level Officer (BLO) for guidance. For voters whose part number remains unchanged, the process is relatively straightforward; for those whose polling part has changed, the immediate challenge is more basic — before checking whether they are on the voter list, they first have to figure out which list to check.
