Draft electoral rolls in Bengal: Over 58L names deleted under SIR
Kolkata: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday published the draft electoral rolls for West Bengal after completing a Special Intensive Revision (SIR), during which about 58,20,898 names were deleted, a move that has put the spotlight on the state’s voter lists and triggered a political slugfest.
The Commission said the exercise was aimed at clearing outdated, duplicate and incorrect entries ahead of future elections.
Data released by the EC show that 24,16,852 names were deleted after voters were reported deceased.
Another 12,20,039 electors were marked as missing or untraceable during field verification at their registered addresses.
In addition, 19,88,076 names were removed after it was found that the voters had permanently shifted to other locations, while 1,38,328 entries were deleted on grounds of duplication or being fake. After the revision, the draft electoral roll for West Bengal now stands at 7,08,16,631 voters.
The scale of deletions has been particularly striking in several high-profile assembly constituencies. Bhawanipore recorded 44,787 deletions from 2,06,295 voters listed in January 2025. Meanwhile, sources said Banerjee, who is also the Trinamool Congress supremo, held a review meeting on the issue, which was attended by Booth Level Agents (BLAs) and party councillors.
Among the state’s other Assembly constituencies, the highest number of deletions was recorded in north Kolkata’s Chowringhee, represented by Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Nayana Bandyopadhyay, where 74,553 names were removed from the draft rolls. Kolkata Port, held by senior minister and city Mayor Firhad Hakim, followed closely with 63,730 deletions. Tollygunge, represented by minister Aroop Biswas, saw 35,309 names struck off.
Several other constituencies also witnessed large-scale deletions. Dum Dum, held by Education Minister Bratya Basu, recorded 33,862 removals, while North Dum Dum, represented by Finance minister Chandrima Bhattacharya, saw 33,912 names deleted. In Chandannagar, represented by minister Indranil Sen, 25,478 voter names were removed during the revision.
At the district level, South 24-Parganas accounted for the highest volume of deletions, with 8,16,047 names struck off, according to the EC’s data.
Addressing concerns, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal Manoj Agarwal clarified that deletion from the draft roll does not amount to final exclusion. He said the Commission has requested the deployment of more than 2,000 additional Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) to conduct hearings on claims and objections arising from the SIR process. These hearings will allow voters whose names have been deleted to present their case with supporting documents.
Agarwal added that if an applicant is unable to appear on the scheduled hearing date, they must submit a valid reason, after which another date will be assigned. He further said that voters dissatisfied with the outcome of a hearing would have the option to appeal for a fresh hearing, underscoring the Commission’s commitment to transparency and fairness.
Details regarding the conduct of hearings, including timelines and verification procedures, will be announced once the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) is notified. Meanwhile, the EC has urged voters to carefully check the draft rolls and submit Form 6 with Annexure 4 to re-enrol their names if deleted.
The magnitude of the revision has invited comparisons with Bihar, where a similar SIR earlier this year led to the exclusion of around 65 lakh names from draft rolls, triggering widespread political backlash. Meanwhile, a political slugfest was going on which intensified with the list publication. The ruling party alleged that the exercise was a “joint conspiracy” by the BJP and the EC and the hearing of nearly 2 crore voters is a kind of harassment for citizens.
Meanwhile, the draft electoral rolls published triggered sharp political reactions, with the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) alleging errors and wrongful exclusions under the SIR process.
“How many genuine voters will be harassed because of the Commission’s negligence? This is an administrative farce and Bengal’s people are being forced to pay the price for it,” Trinamool said.
