The Election Commission on Wednesday published the draft electoral rolls for Jharkhand following the completion of the enumeration phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), with more than 43 lakh names removed from the voter list.

Jharkhand Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) K Ravi Kumar said the state had 2,64,63,236 registered voters before the Special Intensive Revision exercise began. Following the completion of the enumeration process, the draft electoral roll now contains 2,21,01,249 electors.

According to the CEO, 2,21,01,249 electors, or 83.51 per cent of the total registered voters, submitted their enumeration forms by July 29, reflecting strong participation in the revision exercise.

Door-to-door verification conducted during revision exercise

The enumeration exercise for the Special Intensive Revision began on June 30 and continued until July 29. During this period, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) carried out door-to-door visits to distribute, collect and verify enumeration forms submitted by eligible voters.

Why over 43 lakh names were removed

A total of 43,61,987 names were deleted from the draft electoral rolls after being identified under the Absent, Shifted, Dead or Duplicate (ASDD) category.

The CEO said the deleted names include:

• 7.63 lakh voters who had died.
• 15.92 lakh voters who had permanently shifted.
• 14.50 lakh voters who were untraceable or remained absent during the verification exercise.
• 4.38 lakh voters whose names were found registered at multiple locations.

In addition, around 1.16 lakh voters refused to sign the enumeration forms and did not return the completed forms to Booth Level Officers during the enumeration phase, the CEO added.

Meta’s Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan on Wednesday apologised to Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on behalf of the company after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s social media post was mistakenly restricted.

Kaplan said he conveyed the apology to the minister over what he described as an error that led to the restriction of the Prime Minister’s post.

Meta says restriction was an error

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had shared a vertical video on July 23 in which he addressed the public directly. According to Meta, the video was briefly removed from Facebook and Instagram before being restored.

The company attributed the removal to a technical glitch and said the content had been taken down in error before being reinstated on its platforms.

Government found explanation inadequate

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) reviewed the incident and described Meta’s initial explanation as “inadequate”. The company subsequently maintained that the removal was unintentional and restored the post.

India remains Meta’s largest user market, with hundreds of millions of people using Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

August 5 marked the seventh anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370, with major political parties in Jammu and Kashmir observing the day as “Black Day” and organising protests across the Union Territory.

Article 370, which granted special constitutional status to the former state of Jammu and Kashmir, was revoked through a Presidential Order on August 5, 2019. The move also led to the reorganisation of the state into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

While the BJP commemorates the date as a milestone in Jammu and Kashmir’s integration with the rest of the country, regional parties including the National Conference (NC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) continue to oppose the decision.

PDP stages candlelight protest, demands Article 370 restoration

On the eve of the anniversary, the Peoples Democratic Party, led by Mehbooba Mufti, organised a candlelight march in Srinagar. Party members alleged that Mufti’s daughter, Iltija Mufti, was detained during the protest.

Addressing supporters, Mehbooba Mufti described the occasion as a “black night” for Jammu and Kashmir and said the party would continue its protests until the Jammu and Kashmir issue is resolved and Article 370 is restored.

The PDP has also announced protest programmes across various districts of the Union Territory.

National Conference calls August 5 ‘Black Day’

The ruling National Conference also organised demonstrations at its headquarters in Srinagar and in district units across Jammu and Kashmir.

Senior National Conference leader Rattan Lal Gupta said the party observes August 5 as “Black Day” to protest what it described as the unilateral abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s constitutional guarantees. He also criticised the Centre for not restoring statehood despite repeated assurances.

National Conference MP Chowdry Ramzan has invited members of the INDIA bloc to participate in a protest outside Parliament in New Delhi. While several opposition parties have largely remained silent on the Article 370 decision itself, many have supported the demand for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood.

Statehood remains a key political demand

The demand for restoring Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood has remained central to the National Conference’s political campaign.

Recently, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah led a protest in Delhi seeking the restoration of statehood.

The Centre had informed the Supreme Court in 2023 that Jammu and Kashmir’s Union Territory status was temporary and that statehood would be restored after Assembly elections.

Assembly elections were held in September 2024. Following the formation of the government, the Omar Abdullah-led cabinet passed a resolution seeking restoration of statehood. The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly later also passed a resolution calling for the restoration of the region’s special status.

BJP defends 2019 decision

The BJP has consistently maintained that the abrogation of Article 370 and the reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir have strengthened national integration, reduced terrorism and improved normalcy in the region.

However, the National Conference has questioned those claims, citing recent terrorist attacks and arguing that security concerns remain.