India's electoral authority extended the Maharashtra draft roll deadline — under the Special Intensive Revision exercise — to 26 October for claims and objections, after Form 6 submissions over the nine days through Sunday reached 2.83 lakh, bringing the total count of fresh voter registration applications lodged between 31 August and 11 October to 8.33 lakh.

By 2 October, around 5.5 lakh individuals — encompassing both first-time registrants and existing voters whose names had been absent from the draft electoral roll under the special intensive revision process — had submitted Form 6.

Among the three districts leading in Form 6 applications by Sunday's close, Pune recorded the highest volume at 68,764, with Thane registering 58,143 and Mumbai Suburban accounting for 48,861.

On 14 May, the Election Commission of India initiated a Special Intensive Revision drive covering 19 states and Union Territories, Maharashtra among them. When the state released its preliminary electoral roll on 31 August, roughly 1.22 crore voter entries were found to carry either unmapped status or logical discrepancies in the data. Formal notices were delivered to each of the parties involved.

The deadline for submitting claims and filing objections had fallen on Monday, 12 October. A written appeal from the state chief electoral officer, submitted on 7 October, prompted an extension of the deadline. The Election Commission of India invoked the proviso under Rule 12 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.

Maharashtra's chief electoral officer S Chockalingam clarified that the extension applied solely to the window for lodging claims and objections, with no other aspect of the process affected. He noted that the additional time would give election administrators sufficient room to process applications within the updated timetable.

Submissions and formal objections remain open through 26 October under the updated timetable. Notices are to be served and all related claims and objections handled through to 10 November. Publication of the completed voter register is scheduled for 16 November.

By Sunday's close, Form 7 filings requesting name removals or lodging objections had reached 25,661 — a figure representing roughly 0.03 per cent of all registered voters. Of all the districts tallied, Thane logged the largest volume of Form 7 submissions, with 2,173 applications recorded.

Of the districts tallied through Sunday, Mumbai Suburban drew the greatest volume of Form 8 requests — 43,535 in all — covering both voter record corrections and transfers between assembly constituencies. Thane's tally of 29,977 placed it second, while Pune recorded 27,592 Form 8 submissions, placing it third.