The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday released the first phase of West Bengal’s updated electoral rolls following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), in line with the timeline set by the Supreme Court.
While the updated list was yet to be uploaded online at the time of reporting, sources indicated that out of the 7.08 crore voters recorded after the draft rolls were published last December, nearly 7 lakh names have been deleted so far. In addition, 60,60,475 voters have been placed under “adjudication,” pending further verification.
Over 60 Lakh Cases Await Verification
Officials said these 60 lakh-plus entries were flagged due to issues such as logical discrepancies or being categorised as “unmapped” during scrutiny of the draft rolls. Their status will be finalised after the verification process concludes.
In the draft electoral rolls released in December, more than 58 lakh names had already been removed. Sources within the poll panel suggested that the number of deletions could increase further before the SIR process is fully completed.
District-Wise Deletions
Physical copies of the revised rolls began circulating in districts from Saturday afternoon, with the online publication expected later in the day.
District-level data indicates significant deletions across several areas:
· Bankura: Around 1.18 lakh names removed from the final rolls
· Nadia: Approximately 2.73 lakh deletions
· North Kolkata: Nearly 17,000 names struck off in the latest draft, taking total deletions since the start of SIR to 4.07 lakh
· South Kolkata: 3,207 deletions, with 78,675 names still awaiting a final decision
· Alipurduar: Of 11,96,651 names in the final rolls, 1,02,835 were deleted
Trinamool Congress MP from Barrackpore, Partha Bhowmick, said the party was yet to examine the complete list. “Without reviewing it thoroughly, it would be premature to comment,” he said, adding that preliminary feedback from Naihati suggested that some genuine voters’ names may have been removed.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has previously alleged that up to 1.2 crore names could be deleted from the rolls once the final lists are published.
Grounds for Deletion
Election Commission officials maintained that most deletions were based on routine factors such as death, migration, duplication, or individuals being untraceable. Additions to the rolls, they said, were made only after proper document verification.
Across multiple districts, residents gathered around public notice boards displaying printed voter lists, scanning entries and photographing details on their mobile phones. At district magistrate and sub-divisional offices, long queues formed as people waited to check whether their names were marked as “approved,” “deleted,” or kept “under adjudication.”
The SIR process remains ongoing, with further updates expected once all pending cases are reviewed and the final electoral rolls are formally published online.
