As door-to-door enumeration under Special Intensive Revision 2026 is set to begin in the next 10 days, leaders of all political parties across the state have been urging the Punjabi diaspora to remain vigilant and have even been appealing to them to take a tour to their native places before July 24.
Since NRIs prefer to return home ahead of the onset of summers, many of them could even have their houses locked around this time. With no one present back home to represent them, their absence could lead to the cancellation of their votes, says Nakodar Aam Aadmi Party MLA Inderjit Kaur Mann. She has even appealed to the NRIs through her social media pages, “At least, one person per family should try to visit their places, physically appear before the respective booth-level officers and ensure that you do not lose your names in the Punjab’s electoral rolls.”
She added, “It is not just about the voter card. The NRIs, who have still not got citizenship abroad, are also fearing that the deletion of the vote could lead to the withdrawal of their Aadhaar card. They are also apprehensive that their properties could eventually get confiscated. They have been making fervent calls to me. I have been telling them that they should stay vigilant, ask their relatives to stay put in their locked homes and represent them during the period as the exercise starts.”
Jalandhar Cantonment MLA Pargat Singh too said, “As per the details that I received from the office of the Returning Officer of my constituency, about 30,000 of the total 1.87 lakh votes have not got mapped. This is a very huge number and is perturbing at the same time. Our party has engaged booth-level agents who are trying to look for missing voters. They have also been contacting the NRIs, asking them to fill up forms online and follow the due procedures.”
Likewise, Anandpur Sahib MP Malvinder Singh Kang had also formally written to the Election Commission, seeking special provisions for NRIs. He argued that lakhs of Punjabi voters live abroad and may struggle to meet verification requirements within the stipulated time. He sought options such as digital verification for overseas voters.
Gurmangal Dass of Rurkan Kalan village in Jalandhar, who is well-connected with NRIs, said, “To my mind, the NRIs are not as much worried about losing their vote as they are for Aadhaar card. They know that everything back home is linked with Aadhaar, as there is mandatory KYC provision for every other service in government departments. They are also apprehensive that buying or selling land could become a problem for them if their names get struck off from the voter list”.
