On 7 April, the Election Commission of India (ECI) will release the final electoral rolls for West Bengal ahead of Assembly Elections 2026. Around 91 lakh names have reportedly been removed from the list following the completion of the judicial adjudication process under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). The ECI is yet to release final figures as some judicial officers’ e signatures are pending.
According to data from the Chief Electoral Officer’s office, 60,06,675 cases were sent for judicial adjudication. Out of these, 59,84,512 cases have already been processed and digitally signed by judicial officers. Among those examined, 27,16,393 voters were found to be liable for deletion, and their names have been removed from the list.
With these additions, the total number of deletions during the entire SIR process has reached 90,93,345. Earlier, before the revision notification that was issued last November, the state had 7,66,37,529 registered voters. The draft roll published in December had removed 58,20,899 names. In the final list that was released on 28 February, the number increased to 63,66,952. Judicial adjudication has now added another 27 lakh deletions.
Appeal opportunity for affected voters
According to officials, voters whose names have been marked for deletion during the judicial process will be given one more opportunity to present their case through an appeal. Cases that are pending before appellate tribunals will not be included in the electoral rolls for the current election cycle.
Judicial officers scrutinised claims categorised as doubtful, while additional names were removed during verification for reasons including death, migration, duplication, or inability to trace voters. Officials said only those cleared after due verification have been retained or re included.
Murshidabad tops deletion list
According to media reports, the highest number of deletions came from the Muslim dominated Murshidabad, where 4,55,137 names were removed. North 24 Parganas recorded the second highest deletions at 3,25,666.
The Supreme Court has allowed inclusion only of voters cleared by judicial officers and declined pleas to include names whose appeals remain pending before the 19 special appellate tribunals. The bench said adjudicating lakhs of appeals before polls would create chaos.
The Assembly Elections in West Bengal are scheduled to be held in two phases on 23rd April and 29th April. The results will be announced on 4th May.
