Over 2L voters struck off in Malda

Malda: A comparative analysis of the electoral rolls before and after the draft publication reveals that a significant number of voter names have been struck off across 12 Assembly Constituencies. As per official figures, the total number of electors stood at 31,99,533 before the draft publication on October 27, 2025. This number has come down to 29,97,660 in the draft electoral roll published on December 16, 2025.

The data shows that 2,01,873 voter names have been removed, accounting for nearly 6.3 per cent of the total electorate in these constituencies. Among the constituencies, English Bazar recorded the highest deletion, with 23,953 names struck off, followed by Ratua (20,738) and Harischandrapur (17,587).

On the other hand, Mothabari saw the lowest reduction, with 9,914 names removed. Other constituencies such as Gazole, Manikchak, Maldaha, Sujapur and Baisnabnagar each witnessed deletions ranging between 15,000 and 17,000 voters.

Election officials attribute such changes to routine roll revision processes, including the removal of duplicate entries, deaths, migration of voters and corrections based on field verification. Krishnendu Narayan Choudhury, state secretary of TMC, said, “We shall scrutinise the entire matter once we get everything. But the unfortunate thing is that the BJP leaders of the state are declaring the figures before the election commission declares anything.”

Ajoy Ganguly, BJP president of South Malda, said: “This is just the beginning. Many more have been called for hearing but we assume only one sixth will turn up as many don’t have documents. As a result more names will be struck off from the electoral roll.”