West Bengal elections: Nearly 91 lakh names deleted from electoral rolls after SIR exercise
The poll panel is yet to announce the state’s final changed voter base after the list revision process.
Also read: Mamata Banerjee questions PM Modi’s ‘silence’ on Pakistan’s threat to Kolkata
According to official data released on February 28, 63.66 lakh names constituting around 8.3 per cent of the electorate have been deleted since the SIR process started in November last year, reducing the voter base from around 7.66 crore to just over 7.04 crore.
More than 60.06 lakh voters placed in the ‘subject to jurisdiction’ category were part of the 7.04 crore voter base.
According to EC data, out of 60.06 lakh ‘adjudicated’ voters, more than 27.16 lakh were deleted during scrutiny by judicial officers.
More than 32.68 lakh of those in the ‘under jurisdiction’ category have been retained and included in the final lists. According to EC data, final deletions since the beginning of the SIR process were around 90.83 lakh.
“The revision implementation has been carried out in a phased and transparent manner. District-wise data has now been made publicly available to ensure full accountability,” a senior EC official said. he said.
He said data on 59.84 lakh of the 60.06 lakh voters who have been tried have been released and the remaining 22,163 cases have been disposed of but are yet to be e-signed.
“Once the pending procedural formalities, including e-signatures, are completed, there may be marginal changes in both deletion and inclusion figures,” the official said.
He said that the entire exercise was carried out in accordance with the established rules.
“Any additional participation at this stage will be subject to legal provisions and instructions from the competent authorities, if any,” the official said.
Meanwhile, with the release of the latest supplementary list, the voter rolls for the first phase of the West Bengal assembly elections have been “frozen” after Monday midnight in accordance with the laid down norms, he said.
152 of the 294 seats in the parliament will go to the polls on April 23 in the first phase, and the remaining 142 seats will go to the polls on April 29 in the second phase. Voting for the second round will be frozen on April 9.
“No other person will be included in the electoral roll at this stage. The list is frozen as per law following the last date of nomination for the first phase,” a senior Election Commission official told PTI.
“Any changes in this regard will depend solely on any new directions given by the Supreme Court (if any),” he said.
The Apex court, where the SIR issue of West Bengal is heard, will next hear the case on April 13.
