EC publishes draft electoral rolls in Bengal; over 58 lakh names deleted under SIR

Kolkata: The Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday published West Bengal's draft electoral rolls following SIR, with officials indicating that the names of more than 58 lakh voters have been deleted on various grounds, including death, migration and non-submission of enumeration forms. After these deletions, the state's draft electoral rolls are expected to carry the names of 7,08,16,631 voters, 58,20,898 fewer than 7,66,37,529, which was the electorate before SIR, according to official data. With assembly elections likely to be held in the state early next year, the draft rolls, along with a detailed, booth-wise list of deleted voters and reasons for deletion, have been made available on the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal website, the Election Commission's voter portal and the ECINET application. A senior commission official said that the hearing process for affected voters would begin in about a week's time.

The gap between the publication of the draft rolls and the commencement of hearing will be on account of printing of hearing notices, serving those to the electors concerned and creating digital backup for the same on the EC database, the official said. The publication comes after weeks of political anxiety and public uncertainty over the fate of voters during the SIR exercise, which began on November 4 and ended on December 11. According to the commission, the list of deleted voters includes names that figured in the January 2025 electoral rolls but do not appear in the draft rolls post SIR. The deletion list is accessible through a separate portal, enabling voters to check whether their own or family members' names have been removed and under which category. Commission sources said the deletions primarily stem from what were termed "uncollectable SIR enumeration forms", which exceeded 58 lakh. These cases involved voters who were found to be deceased, permanently shifted from their registered addresses, untraceable, or recorded as duplicate voters in more than one constituency. A detailed breakup released by the CEO's office last week showed that 24,16,852 voters were marked as dead, 19,88,076 were found to have permanently shifted, and 12,20,038 were listed as missing or untraceable at their registered addresses. Another 1.38 lakh voters were identified as having duplicate entries, while 1,83,328 names were flagged as so-called 'ghost' voters. In addition, more than 57,000 names were deleted under other complications detected during enumeration. In all, 58,20,898 names were excluded from the draft rolls. After these deletions, the draft electoral roll is expected to carry the names of 7,08,16,631 voters across the state, according to official data.

The Election Commission stressed that deletion from the draft roll does not mark the end of the road for affected voters. "Aggrieved persons can submit their claims in Form 6 along with the Declaration Form and supporting documents after publication of the draft roll during the period fixed for receiving claims and objections, from December 16, 2025, to January 15, 2026," an EC official said. Special Roll Observer for West Bengal, former bureaucrat Subrata Gupta, sought to allay public fears, saying voters whose names do not figure in the draft list should not panic. He noted that around 30 lakh voters whose details could not be matched with the 2002 electoral rolls would be called for hearings, where they would get an opportunity to produce documents and establish eligibility before a final decision is taken. The draft rolls had begun appearing on the Booth Level Officer (BLO) application a day before their formal publication, a move that had already sparked intense political debate. After Tuesday's release, the commission advised all voters to verify their names through online portals or offline by visiting their local BLOs. Hard copies of the draft rolls will be available with BLOs at the booth level, and they have been asked to remain present at booths as far as possible on the day of publication. Soft copies of the rolls will also be provided to representatives of the state's eight recognised political parties. The publication of the draft rolls has sharpened political fault lines in the state. Just after the release of draft rolls, the ruling TMC alleged a "joint conspiracy" by the BJP and the Election Commission, claiming that the prospect of "hearings for nearly two crore voters" amounted to an attempt to intimidate citizens and question their citizenship. A senior TMC leader said every voter's rights would be protected and warned against what it described as a "coordinated effort to create fear". The BJP dismissed the allegations, with Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, mocking the charge and remarking, "This is just the beginning. Breakfast has just begun. There will be lunch, tea and then dinner." While he refrained from giving fresh numbers on deletions, Adhikari said he would speak after the final rolls are published on February 14, as per the commission's schedule. The SIR process has also been accompanied by allegations of "SIR-related panic" following reports of deaths in parts of the state. According to TMC, till now, 40 ordinary citizens, including four BLOs, have died due to SIR panic, including suicides. The BJP has dismissed the claims of SIR-linked citizen deaths as "politically motivated", insisting that the ruling party was trying to "cash in on human tragedies".