SIR in Manipur: Data shows disproportionately high deletions in tribal constituencies

An analysis of constituency-wise deletions during the enumeration phase of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in conflict-hit Manipur showed that the 19 Scheduled Tribe (ST) constituencies witnessed disproportionately high deletions when compared with the remaining 41 Assembly constituencies (ACs).

The draft SIR rolls released on Sunday (July 5, 2026) showed that these 19 ACs in the hill areas—which have a predominant presence of the Kuki and Naga communities—accounted for 64.2% (1.02 lakh) of the 1.59 lakh deletions despite accounting for only 37.8% of the 20.93 lakh voters who were on the State’s electoral rolls before the SIR commenced.

In contrast, the remaining 41 constituencies—the majority of which are located in the Imphal valley—accounted for only 35.8% (56,850) of the deletions despite accounting for 62.2% of the electorate. In other words, for every name deleted in these 41 constituencies, roughly two names were deleted in the 19 ST constituencies.

(The 41 include Sekmai, the only AC reserved for Scheduled Castes in Manipur.)

The table below shows the number of voters present in the General (GEN) constituencies and in the ones reserved for STs and SCs before SIR, and the number of deletions in these constituencies. As the table shows, the share of voters from ST constituencies in Manipur’s electorate dropped by 2.1 percentage points because of the disproportionately high deletions in them.

Manipur has been in turmoil ever since violence erupted along ethnic lines between the Meitei and Kuki communities in May 2023, resulting in the displacement of about 60,000 people and the killing of more than 250. Though the clashes started between the Meitei and Kuki communities, the conflict has also exacerbated tensions between the Kukis and Nagas, resulting in further violence.

The map below shows the wide variations in the deletions. Among the ST constituencies, deletions were more concentrated in and around Churachandpur district, which has a significant presence of the Kuki community and was the epicentre of the conflict.