On 16th December (Tuesday) the Election Commission (EC) released West Bengal’s draft electoral registers following Special Intensive Revision (SIR). According to officials, the names of over 58 lakh voters were removed for a variety of reasons, such as death, migration, and failure to submit enumeration forms. 24 lakh of these names are designated as “dead,” 19 lakh as “relocated,” 12 lakh as “missing”, and 1.3 lakh as “duplicate”.
According to official data, the state’s draft electoral rolls are anticipated to contain the names of 7,08,16,631 voters following these deletions. Official data showed that it is 58,20,898 less than the electorate, which was 7,66,37,529 prior to the exercise. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who cast her vote at the Bhowanipore polling station in south Kolkata, saw the removal of at least 127 names.
A total of 58,20,898 voter names have been identified for deletion, consisting of 24,16,852 as declared deceased, 19,88,076 either permanently moved or migrated, 1,38,328 were found to be duplicate, fraudulent or fictitious registrations while 12,20,038 had been flagged as missing. An additional 57,604 names have been suggested for removal for “other reasons.” Meanwhile, the people who are not included in the voter list can file Form 6 with their assertions and accompanying documentation.
According to a senior official, roughly 30,00,000 voters could not be identified using the 2002 list at the time of the last SIR, reported Hindustan Times. Due to inconsistencies in their enumeration forms, an additional 1,67,00,000 voters have been under examination by the poll panel.
Voters whose father’s name does not match the 2002 list, whose age difference with parents is below 15 years or above 50 years, are among the seven groups into which the inconsistencies have been classified. The category also included those with an age difference of less than 40 years from their grandparents and those whose genders were not the same.
An official informed, “The Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will reverify the details of these voters after a house visit. If the discrepancies still remain, they will be called for hearing by the Electoral Registration Office (ERO).”
Voters can enter their name or Elector’s Photo Identity Card (EPIC) number to confirm their information online at voters.eci.gov.in, ceowestbengal.wb.gov.in/SIR, or eci.gov.in. The ECINET mobile application offers verification as well. Voters can contact their individual BLOs, who have been given booth-wise draft rolls via a specific application, if online portals are unavailable. Booth Level Assistants (BLAs) can also be asked to assist.
The first phase of process comes to an end with the release of the draft voter list making way for procedures including claims, objections and hearings. Voters and political parties can present claims and objections to the poll panel regarding the addition or removal of names from the draft list until 15th January 2026. The dates of the hearing and verification are between 16th January to 7th February as 14th February is marked for the release of the final roll. The state is expected to hold assembly elections early next year.
